DEPARTMENT    OF  AGRICULTURE, 


CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES 


I  — ♦OF--- 

DOMESTICATED  ANIKeS^J 


INVESTIGATIONS 


DEPAETMENT  OF  AGEICULTUEE, 


1883-1884. 


WASnil^rGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING     OFFIOE. 
1  S  8  4  . 


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DEPARTMENT    OF  AGRICULTURE. 


CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES 


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'-IBRARY 


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DOMESTICATED  ANIMALS. 


INVESTIGATIONS 


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DEPAETMENT  OF  AGEICULTUEE, 


1883-1884. 


5751  D  A 


WASniNGTOX: 
GOVERNMENT   P HINTING   OFFICE. 

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3 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL- 


Hon.  Geo.  B.  Lorinci, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture : 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  herewith  transmit  a  report  of  the  results  of 
the  experiments  and  investigations  of  the  Veterinary  Division  for  the 
year  1883-'84.  The  first  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  In- 
dustry-, which  will  contain  a  detailed  statement  of  the  investigations 
made  and  all  the  work  accomplished  since  the  organization  of  the 
Bureau,  in  conformity  with  the  act  passed  at  the  last  session  of  Con- 
gress, will  be  submitted  for  your  approval  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

My  work  at  tlie  Veterinary  Exi)erimental  Station  has  been  greatly  re- 
tarded during  the  j)ast  three  or  four  months,  made  necessary  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  an  outbreak  of  ergotism  among  cattle  in  the  West,  and 
later  in  the  supervision  of  the  work  necessary  for  the  organization 
of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry.  In  addition  to  this  I  spent  the 
months  of  August  and  September  in  tracing  the  cattle  infected  with 
contagious  pleuropneumonia  in  some  of  the  Western  Stntes,  a  detailed 
account  of  which  will  be  furnished  you  in  the  First  Annual  Keport  of 
the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry. 

My  report  proper  contains  the  results  of  experiments  and  investiga- 
tions of  Pleuropneumonia,  Ergotism,  Southern  Cattle  Fever,  and  Swine 
Plague. 

In  addition  to  the  above  this  volume  will  contain  interesting  and  val- 
uable papers  on  the  following  subjects :  Ergotism  among  cattle  in 
Kansas,  by  M.  K. Trumbower,  V.  S. ;  >Syng(i)n us  trachealis,  or  (lape Disease 
of  Fowls,  translated  from  the  French  by  Dr.  Theobald  Smith;  Proceed- 
ings of  the  International  Veterinary  Congress,  as  reported  by  Dr.  James 
Law;  Hamburg  International  Exhibition,  reported  by  Mr.  J.  H.  San- 
ders and  Dr.  Rush  Shii)pen  Huidekoper;  a  detailed  report  of  the  losses 
sustained  by  an  extensive  outbreak  of  Southern  cattle  fever  among  cat- 
tle in  Kansas,  by  Dr.  M.  K.  Trumbower;  Investigations  as  to  the  Cause 
of  Southern  Cattle  Fever,  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Detmers;  Contagious  Animal 
Diseases,  and  their  Relation  to  the  Public  Health,  by  Dr.  Ezra  M.  Hunt; 
results  as  to  the  prevalence  of  trichinte  as  shown  by  the  reiK)rt  of  the 
recent  commission  api)ointed  by  the  President;  salt  used  in  packing; 
extracts  from  letters  of  correspondents,  and  statistical  returns  as  to 
losses  and  general  condition  of  farm  animals  as  reported  b^*  the  regular 
correspondents  of  the  Department. 
V'eiy  respect  full  \,  &c., 

D.  E.  SALMON, 
Chivfof  Bureau  of  A  uiuud  Industry. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Octvlter  liS,  1884. 


RESULTS  OF  INVESTIGATIONS  MADE  DURING  THE 

YEAR  1883-84. 


Hon.  Geo.  B.  Lortng, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture  : 

Sir  :  In  my  last  report  brief  mention  was  made  of  the  Veterinary  Ex- 
perimental Station  established  b^'  your  direction  near  this  city.  Since 
then  many  additions  have  been  made  to  this  Station,  and  it  is  now 
thonght  a  more  detailed  description  will  i>rove  of  interest  to  those  en- 
gaged in  investigations  as  to  tiie  canse,  transmission,  and  i)revention  of 
infectious  and  contagious  diseases  incident  to  domestic  animals  both  in 
this  and  in  other  countries. 

The  Station  is  located  on  the  Benning's  Bridge  road,  about  one-fourth 
of  a  mile  east  of  the  northeastern  boundary  of  the  city.  The  plat  of 
ground  on  which  it  is  lobated  consists  of  7  acres  of  rolling  land,  which 
is  subdivided  by  new  fencing  into  three  pasture  fields.  The  largest 
inclosure  contains  4  acres,  the  second  2  acres,  and  the  third  1  acre. 
There  are  seven  outbuildings  for  tlie  accommodation  of  cattle  and  the 
protection  of  the  necessary  implements  for  keeping  the  place  in  proper 
condition.  Two  wooden  and  two  brick  structures  are  used  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  cattle  alone.  The  interior  of  the  stables  are  fitted  up 
with  box  stalls  located  on  each  side  of  a  4-foot  passage-way  extending 
the  entire  length  of  the  buildings.  The  average  measurement  of  each 
stall  is  8  by  10  feet.  One  stable  contains  eight  stalls,^a  second  five,  and 
a  third  four.  When  necessary,  two  steers  or  cows  can  occupy  each  stall 
with  comfort.     Ample  feed-rooms  are  attached  to  eacli  stable. 

The  fourth  building  is  a  wooden  structure  25  feet  wide  by  31  feet  in 
length,  with  interior  free  of  compartments.  This  building  is  used  for 
the  protection  from  inclement  weather  of  the  cattle,  which  are  allowed 
to  graze  on  the  largest  pasture  field,  and  has  been  left  open  on  the  sojith 
side. 

Four  rows  of  pigpens  are  located  at  different  points  on  the  premises. 
One  of  these  pens  is  GO  feet  in  length  by  10  feet  in  width,  and  is  subdi- 
vided into  ten  compartments.  Two  others  are  30  feet  in  length,  and 
contain  five  pens  each.  The  fourth  is  divided  into  four  pens.  Ten  or 
twelve  pigs  can  be  accommodated  with  comfort  in  eacli  pen.  They  are 
supplied  with  cast-iron  water-troughs,  and  the  floors  of  each,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  stables,  are  laid  in  concrete,  which  prevents  the  absorption 
of  water  and  facilitates  disinfection. 


6  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Iii  addition  to  the  pens  and  stables  a  large  cliickeii-house,  25  feet  in 
length  by  12  feet  in  width,  has  been  provided  for  experiments  with  con- 
tagions diseases  incident  to  fowls.  A  small  building,  midway  between 
the  pens  and  stables,  has  been  fitted  np  for  post-mortem  examinations, 
and  is  supplied  with  all  the  necessary  instruments  for  making  autopsies. 

A  brick  dwelling  house,  about  40  feet  square  and  two  stories  in  height, 
is  located  near  the  northern  extremity  of  the  grounds,  and  is  occupied 
by  W.  H.  Eose,  V.  S.,  superintendent  of  the  Station.  The  w^ater  for  the 
Station  is  supplied  by  two  excellent  wells  conveniently  located.  Plates 
I,  II,  and  III,  accompanying  this  report,  give  accurate  views  of  the 
buildings  and  grounds  from  different  points. 


INVESTIGATIONS  OF  PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 

DISTRICT   OF   COLUMBIA. 

Xo  systematic  inspection  of  cattle  has  yet  been  made  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  but  we  have  secured  a  number  of  sick  cows  which  have 
been  slaughtered  and  examined  in  order  to  determine  the  nature  of  the 
disease  from  which  they  were  suffering.  Other  cases  have  been  brought 
to  our  attention  by  Dr.  Townsheud,  the  able  health  officer  of  the  District, 
in  regard  to  which  we  have  made  all  the  investigations  that  were  pos- 
sible. During  the  year  we  have  in  this  way  found  the  disease  in  ten 
stables  in  which  more  than  one  cow  was  kept,  and  in  three  others  in 
which  the  diseased  animal  was  the  only  one  owned.  In  one  stable  two 
have  died  ;  in  a  second,  one  had  died  and  two  were  sick ;  in  a  third, 
five  had  died  and  six  were  more  or  less  affected  ;  in  a  fourth,  two  had 
been  lost;  in  a  fifth,  six  had  been  lost ;  in  a  sixth,  five  had  died  ;  in  a 
seventh,  three  had  died  ;  and  in  the  remaining  three  stables  the  loss,  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  has  been  one  animal  each. 

The  total  number  of  animals  referred  to  above  is  twenty-seven  which 
have  died,  and  eight  which  were  sick  at  inspection.  In  these  cases  the 
symptoms  and  post-mortem  appearances  of  the  animals  examined  were 
those  of  contagious  pleuropneumonia,  and  the  history,  when  it  could 
be  obtained,  also  pointed  in  this  direction.  The  following  instance  is 
an  illustration  of  this  : 

A  cow  belonging  to  Mrs.  Flanigan,  of  Benning's  road,  was  discovered 
sick,  May  22,  1883.  The  symptoms  were  a  severe,  dry  cough  emacia- 
tion, arched  back,  extended  head,  and  turning  out  of  the  elbows.  Per- 
cussion and  auscultation  showed  that  there  was  dullness  and  loss  of 
respiratory  murmur  over  the  right  lung. 

This  animal  was  preserved  until  August  27,  and  then  slaughtered. 
The  anterior  portion  of  the  right  lung  was  found  to  contain  a  large 
encysted  mass  of  hcpati/ed  lung  tissue,  tally  5  inches  in  diameter, 
which  was  beginning  to  disiutegrate  aud  break  down  into  pus.     The 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  7 

left  lung  was  affected  with  chrouic  bronchitis,  and  many  of  the  bronchi 
were  filled  with  a  thick,  white,  tenacious  pus. 

The  disease  was  brought  to  this  stable  in  the  latter  part  of  December, 
1882,  by  a  cow  dealer  who  lives  near  the  navy-yard.  She  presented 
symptoms  of  disease  in  about  two  weeks  after  purchase  and  lingered 
for  six  weeks  with  symptoms  of  acute  lung  disease.  Three  weeks  after 
the  death  of  this  first  cow  a  second  became  sick,  with  similar  symptoms, 
and  died  after  four  weeks'  illness. 

Two  others  were  successively  affected  in  a  similar  manner  and  died ; 
and,  finally,  the  fifth  came  down  with  the  disease  about  the  1st  of  May, 
1883. 

On  May  29, 1883,  we  received  at  the  Veterinary  Experiment  Station  a 
€0W  from  the  stable  of  Catharine  Bresuahan,  of  Lincoln  avenue.  This 
animal  was  somewhat  tympanitic  and  stood  with  arched  back,  elbows 
turned  out,  and  extended  head.  With  each  expiration  there  was  a  loud 
moan.  Examination  over  the  lungs  revealed  dullness,  tenderness,  and 
loss  of  respiration  on  the  right  side. 

This  animal  died  during  the  night  of  June  3,  and  was  examined  the 
following  day.  The  right  lung  was  found  to  be  firmly  attached  to  the 
ribs  and  diaphragm  over  nearly  the  whole  surface  of  contact.  This  lung 
was  almost  completely  hepatized;  the  posterior  part  was  gangrenous; 
the  median  portion  showed  old  hepatization,  in  which  there  was  little 
difference  in  color  between  the  lobular  and  the  interlobular  tissue, 
while  the  anterior  portion  was  freshly  hepatized  and  presented  the  dis- 
tinctly marbled  appearance  seen  in  acute  pleuro-pueumonia,  and  thought 
by  some  to  be  characteristic  of  tliat  disease.  The  condition  of  this  lung 
showed  bej'ond  questionthattheintlammation  was  a  progressive  one,  and, 
beginning  in  the  posterior  portion  of  the  organ,  had  successively  in- 
vaded the  median  and  anterior  portions. 

The  existence  of  intiammation  of  different  ages,  showing  the  i)ro- 
gressive  character  of  the  disease,  is  now  regarded  by  the  leading  author- 
ities of  Europe  as  the  most  satisfactory  means  of  distinguishing  between 
contagious  pleuropneumonia  and  the  sporadic  intlammations  of  the  res- 
piratory organs.  The  pleural  cavity  contained  about  a  quart  of  effusion, 
and  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  bronchial  tubes  was  of  a  deep  red 
color. 

This  animal  presented,  consequently,  all  the  s^nnptoms  and  post-mortem 
appearances  described  as  peculiar  to  pleuropneumonia.  The  only  his- 
tory that  could  be  obtained  was  that  a  number  of  cows  had  previously 
been  affected  in  this  stable  with  similar  sym])toms. 

September  18, 1883,  I  examined  a  cow  on  Nineteenth  street,  which  had 
rapid  and  difficult  breathing,  with  extended  head  and  elbows  turned  out 
as  in  cases  of  pleuro-pneuinonia.  There  was  dullness  over  the  lower  half 
of  both  lungs,  with  resonam',e  above,  but  no  res[)iratory  murmur  could 
be  detected  over  the  left  side  from  the  shoulder  backward.  This  ani- 
mal died  on  the  morning  of  September  21,  and  on  examination  the  left 


8  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

lunjr  was  found  solidly  attaclied  to  tbe  ribs  and  diai)lirag'm.  There  wa» 
an  abundant  effusion  of  liquid  into  the  pleural  cavity  ;  the  pericardium 
was  greatly  distended  and  attached  to  the  costal  pleura.  On  section 
the  lun<jf  was  found  free  from  hepatization,  bat  the  pericardium  was 
greatly  thickened  and  transformed  into  a  fibrous  cyst  inclosing  the 
heart.  The  surface  of  the  heart  showed  that  this  organ  had  been  in- 
tensely inflamed;  it  was  roughened  and  covered  with  granulations^ 
mostly  gray  in  color,  but  over  parts  of  the  surface  mottled  with  deep 
red.  The  heart  tissue,  to  a  depth  of  half  an  inch  from  the  surface,  liad 
undergone  fibrous  degeneration,  was  colorless,  and  resisted  the  knife. 
A  painting  was  made  of  this  organ  and  is  reproduced  in  this  report  as 
Plate  IV;  it  shows  very  plainly  the  thickened  pericardium,  the  mottled 
appearance  of  the  surface  of  the  heart,  which  organ  was  cut  across  to 
reveal  the  depth  of  the  fibrous  degeneration. 

There  may  be  a  question  as  to  the  exact  nature  of  this  disease — 
■whether  it  was  induced  by  the  virus  of  lung  plague  or  whether  by  other 
causes.  No  diseased  animals  had  been  introduced  on  the  place,  but 
there  had  been  opportunity  of  exposure  to  animals  running  at  large. 
The  absence  of  hepatization  is  not  conclusive  evidence  tbat  it  was  not 
lung  plague.  This  disease  quite  often  confines  itself  to  the  serous  mem- 
branes without  api)reciably  affecting  the  lung  tissue,  and  pericarditis 
and  epicarditis  are  manifestations  which  have  been  described  as  occur- 
ring In  the  infected  stables  of  Europe.  lam  inclined  to  think,  therefore^ 
that  this  affection  was  the  result  of  ex])osure  to  the  lung-plague  virus. 

January  12,  1884,  three  cows  were  slaughtered  at  the  Veterinary  Ex- 
periment Station  in  presence  of  Hon.  James  Wilson,  of  Iowa,  member 
of  the  House  Committee  on  Agriculture,  antl  of  delegates  from  the 
Chicago  convention  of  stockmen  and  of  distinguished  veterinarians,  iu 
order  to  demonstrate  the  character  of  the  disease  from  which  the  cattle 
in  this  vicinity  were  suffering.  The  first  one  was  a  young  cow  that  I 
found  January  1,  1884,  at  the  stable  of  the  owner  near  Washington- 
At  that  time  her  breathing  was  rapid  and  labored,  a  distinct  grunt  or 
moan  being  emitted  at  each  expiration.  On  percussion  over  the  region 
occu])ied  by  the  lungs  the  right  side  was  found  perfectly  dull  and  with- 
out resonance,  while  the  left  side  was  resonant  over  the  upper  half,  but 
very  dull  below.  Auscultation  showed  complete  loss  of  respirator^" 
murmur  over  the  whole  of  the  right  and  over  the  lower  part  of  the  left 
side.     There  was  no  cough. 

This  cow  had  been  purchased  about  a  month  previously,  from  a  dealer 
who  had  brought  her  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  in  Virginia,  and  had 
kei)t  her  for  a  number  of  days  (the  exact  time  not  known)  at  his  stable 
in  Washington.  She  was  noticed  to  isolate  herself  from  the  remainder 
of  the  herd  while  at  pasture,  and  to  be  disinclined  to  move,  almost  as 
soon  as  she  Avas  ])laced  with  the  herd.  She  commenced  moaning  at 
each  expiration  more  than  two  weeks  before  I  saw  her,  and  was  then 
separated  from  the  other  animals.  January  2  she  was  removed  to  the 
Experiment  Station,  her  temperature  at  that  time  being  about  103°  F» 


Plate    W. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  9 

This  cow  died  during'  the  night  of  January  11,  and  was  examined 
about  11  o'clock  the  following  day.  On  opening  the  thorax  about  2 
gallons  of  amber-colored  liquid  escaped.  The  right  lung  was  solidly 
attached  to  the  costal  pleura  and  diaphragm  by  thick  false  membranes 
of  recent  formation.  On  the  left  side  the  attachments  were  not  so  ex- 
tensive, and  the  membranes  were  of  still  more  recent  growth.  On  each 
side  there  were  thick  masses  of  coagulated  lymph,  weighing  from  2  to 
3  pounds,  and  of  a  whitish  color  and  firm  consistency,  which  indicated 
their  formation  a  number  of  days  before  the  death  of  the  animal.  The 
lung  tissue  presented  no  signs  of  hepatization. 

The  second  cow  examined  was  brought  to  the  Station  over  two 
mouths  before,  and  at  the  time  of  this  examination  was  somewhat 
emaciated.  She  was  coughing  when  tirst  seen,  had  little  appetite,  and 
an  examination  of  the  lungs  showed  dullness  and  loss  of  respiratory 
murmur  over  the  lower  ])art  of  the  right  lung. 

Three  animals  had  j^reviously  been  lost  in  the  stable  from  which  she 
came,  and  before  death  they  presented  symptoms  of  Inng  disease. 

This  cow  was  slaughtered,  and  on  opening  the  cavity  of  the  thorax 
the  left  lung  was  found  adherent  to  the  diai)hragm  and  the  riglit  lung" 
to  the  costal  pleura.  The  right  lung  contained  four  or  five  masses, 
varying  from  two  to  four  inches  in  diameter,  surrounded  by  a  thin  cyst 
wall  and  composed  of  hepatized  lung  tissne  in  a  disintegrating  condi- 
tion. 

The  third  animal,  which  was  also  somewhat  emaciated,  was  obtained 
January  10,  from  a  stable  where  two  cows  had  been  lost  in  the  preited- 
ing  summer.  She  had  been  purchased  for  $30  two  or  three  months 
before  she  sickened,  and  was  at  that  time  in  good  health.  When 
brought  to  the  station  her  temperature  was  101°  F.,  and  there  was  com- 
plete dullness  and  loss  of  respiration  over  the  left  lung.  Tier  condition 
was  substantially  the  same  on  ths  day  of  examination,  January  12. 
When,  after  slaughter,  the  ribs  of  the  left  side  were  removed,  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  amber-colored  liquid  escaped.  This  lung  was  com- 
pletely hepatized  and  solidly  attached  to  both  the  ribs  and  diaphragm. 
A  section  of  the  lung  disclosed  the  interlobular  tissue  distended  with 
lym])h,  though  not  to  the  degree  sometimes  seen.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  very  distinct  marbled  ap])earance,  and  a  difference  of  coloration 
between  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  lung  that  probably  resulted 
from  a  difference  in  the  age  of  the  hei)ati/.ati()n  in  these  two  ])ortions. 
The  right  lung  of  this  animal  was  in  a  normal  condition. 

A  fourth  cow  was  obtained  from  a  Washington  stable  the  same  day 
that  the  above  examinations  were  made.  She  died  during  the  night  of 
January  12.  Her  a|>[)earance  before  death  and  the  condition  of  her 
lungs  when  examined  were  very  similar  to  that  of  the  third  cow  men- 
tioned above. 

May  1,  1884,  a  sick  cow  was  reported  at  Miss  Fannin's,  on  M  stree^^ 


10  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

in  this  city.  Slie  was  examiaed  the  same  day  and  found  to  be  moaning 
with  each  expiration;  her  breathing  was  labored  ;  there  wassaliv^ation, 
extended  head,  and  elbows  turned  out.  Tlie  bronchial  breathing  was 
loudest  on  the  riuht  side;  the  left  side  was  very  dull  on  percussion  up 
to  and  somewhat  above  the  median  line.  The  right  side  had  a  dull 
area  at  lower  portion  of  thorax  and  another  above  the  median  line. 

Mayo,  this  animal,  now  sinking  rapidly  and  already  tympanitic,  was 
slaughtered.  The  autopsy  revealed  the  left  lung  completely  solidified 
with  the  exception  of  a  very  small  part  of  the  anterior  lobe.  Various 
stages  of  inflammation  were  to  be  seen  in  the  different  pirts  of  the  lung. 
There  were  thick  false  membranes  and  solid  adhesions  to  the  dia- 
phragm and  costal  pleura.  The  right  lung  was  extremely  emphysema- 
tous, and  parts  of  it  adherent  to  the  costal  pleura,  but  there  was  no 
hepatization  of  its  tissues. 

CONNECTICUT. 

In  the  latter  part  of  August,  18S3,  I  investigated  an  outbreak  of  dis- 
ease at  Salem,  Conn.,  which  had  affected  cattle  on  the  farms  of  H.  B. 
Williams  and  Captain  Seaman,  of  that  place.  The  history  of  this  out- 
break may  be  summarized  as  follows:  Hon.  E.  H.  Hyde,  of  the  State 
Commission  on  Diseases  of  Domestic  Animals,  first  visited  the  farm  of 
Mr.  Williams  on  August  S,  and  at  that  time  found  a  young  bull  in  the 
lot  partially  recovered  from  an  attack  of  disease,  and  a  cow  and  an  ox 
were  both  very  sick  with  what  he  considered  to  be  the  typical  symptoms 
of  pleuro  pneumonia.  At  Captain  Seaman's  a  cow  was  very  sick  and 
presented  the  same  symptoms  as  were  seen  with  the  affected  cattle  be- 
longing to  Williams. 

Tlie  next  morning  Dr.  Rice,  of  Hartford,  was  called,  and  on  arrival, 
Williams'  cow  was  found  to  have  died  daring  the  night. 

A  post- mortem  examination  was  made  and  the  lung  found  attached  to 
the  walls  of  the  chest;  when  cut  across  it  was  seen  to  be  solidly  hepatized, 
of  a  marbled  appearance,  and  presented  all  the  characters  of  contagious 
l)leuro-pneninonia.  The  Commission  advised  slaughter,  which  was  ob- 
jected to,  but  the  same  day  after  the  departure  of  the  State  officers,  the 
sick  ox  belonging  to  Williams  and  the  cow  belonging  to  Seaman  were 
slaughtered.  These  animals  were  not  examined  jn'ofessionally,  but  the 
<lescriptions  which  I  received  from  those  who  were  present  were  suffi- 
cient to  satisfy  me  that  the  lungs  were  solidified  and  attached  to  the 
ribs. 

August  2!),  1  visited  Mr.  Williams'  farm  and  learned  froin  him  the 
parti(;ulars  of  the  outbreak.  The  first  symptoms  of  disease  were  seen 
in  one  of  the  cows  June  20,  and  a  second  cow  was  attacked  on  June  23  j 
both  of  these  died  from  the  effects  of  the  disease  July  3.  At  the  time 
of  my  visit,  August  29,  there  were  six  animals  on  the  place :  one  ox, 
<juite  sick  with  left  lung  solidified ;  one  Jersey'  cow,  had  been  quite 
«ick  but  was  now  better;  one  young  Jersey  bull,  with  left  lung  solidi- 


CONTAGIOUS  disk\sp:s  of  domesticated  animals.         11 

:fie(l,  and  three  Jersey  cows,  in  which  I  found  no  evidence  of  disease. 
Only  one  animal  bad  been  brought  on  the  place  within  a  year  jireceding 
the  outbreak,  and  that  was  a  Jersey  cow  named  Mollie  Lathrop  3rd, 
No.  7627.  She  was  obtained  by  exchange  with  Charles  Decline,  of  New 
Durham,  N.  J,,  on  April  10,  1883.  This  cow  aborted  the  last  of  May, 
but  lias  shown  no  other  signs  of  sickness.  At  the  time  of  examination 
she  was  in  tine  condition,  fat,  glos««y,  with  no  cough  and  no  signs  of 
lung  disease,  revealed  by  either  auscultation  or  percussion. 

I  visited  Charles  Decline  at  New  Durham,  N.  J.,  on  August  30.  He 
stated  to  me  that  he  exchanged  cows  with  Williams  about  April  16. 
His  cow  went  to  New  London  on  the  same  boat  that  the  other  returned 
by.  According  to  the  statement  of  Williams'  farmer,  the  two  cows  were 
together  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  at  New  London.  The  cow  Decline 
received  from  Williams  sickened  about  the  last  of  May.  About  a  week 
later,  she  and  another  Jersey  cow  which  stood  beside  her,  and  which 
was  also  sick,  were  killed  and  examined  by  his  son,  who  is  a  veterinary 
surgeon.  Both  were  affected  with  lung  disease  which  he  pronounced 
to  be  pleuropneumonia.  The  lungs  were  hepatized,  marbled  in  color, 
and  attached  to  the  walls  of  the  chest. 

Decline  purchased  Mollie  3d  of  Mr.  Whitenack,  of  Duuellen,  N.  J., 
December  13,  1881.  He  says  that  he  never  had  any  disease  among  his 
cattle  until  after  the  cow  arrived  from  Connecticut,  and  attributes  the 
infection  to  her. 

It  was  evident  that  some  of  the  facts  connected  with  the  history  of 
the  disease  in  these  two  herds  had  been  concealed,  but  it  was  very  cer- 
tain that  the  disease  had  existed  in  both  herds,  and  it  was  very  proba- 
ble that  one  of  the  herds  had  been  infected  as  the  result  of  the  exchange 
referred  to  above.  Considering  that  there  had  been  no  disease  in  Con- 
necticut until  nine  weeks  after  the  exchange,  and  that  it  was  admitted 
to  have  existed  in  Declines'  herd  four  weeks  earlier  than  it  appeared 
among  Williams's  cattle;  and  considering,  further,  that  the  vicinity  of 
New  Durham  has  long  been  infected  with  i)leuro.-i)neumonia  while  none 
had  previously  existed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Salem,  and  the  probabil- 
ity is  that  the  disease  was  carried  from  New  Jersey  to  Connecticut. 
There  is  one  other  possibility,  however,  viz.,  that  both  cows  were  in- 
fected on  the  boat  or  between  the  boat  landing  and  Decline's  place. 

This  theory  is  not  probable,  for  the  reason  that  a  second  cow  was  sick 
at  Decline's  by  the  last  of  May,  and  this  would  retpiire  the  assuin]>tion 
that  two  full  periods  of  incubation  had  elapsed  between  April  10  and 
May  30 ;  that  is,  within  six  weeks.  Now,  it  is  very  seldom  that  the  pe- 
riod of  in(!ubation  of  pleuropneumonia  is  less  than  four  weeks,  and  it 
is  generally  longer  than  this;  consecpiently,  it  is  very  unlikely  that  in 
two  successive  cases  on  the  same  farm  it  would  be  reduced  to  throe 
weeks.  The  admitted  fact  that  both  sickened  at  about  the;  same  time 
-is  an  indication  that  both  were  infected  at  the  same  time,  and  from  a 


12  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

coininoii  source,  rather  than  that  one  contracted  the  disea'^e  from  the 
other. 

A  second  visit  was  made  to  the  farm  September  7,  in  company  with 
Hon.  E,  II.  Hyde  and  T.  S.  Gold,  of  the  State  Commission  on  Diseases 
of  Animals,  and  Doctors  Thayer,  Rice,  and  Parkinson.  At  this  time  the 
bull  and  ox  still  presented  symptoms  of  pleuropneumonia.  The  cow, 
Mollie  3rd,  was  again  carefully"  examined  and  showed  a  rather  large 
area  of  dullness  over  the  region  of  the  heart  and  another  low  down 
on  the  right  side.  My  own  opinion  was  that  this  dullness  did  not  indi- 
cate any  disease  of  the  lungs,  though  some  of  the  others  thought  dif- 
ferently. It  was  admitted  by  all,  however,  that  there  were  no  i)ositive 
signs  of  diseased  lungs  in  her  case. 

A  third  visit  was  made,  in  company  with  the  same  gentlemen,  with 
the  exception  of  Dr.  Thayer,  September  12,  when  the  ox  mentioned 
above  was  slaughtered  and  examined.  This  animal  was  now  believed 
by  the  owner  to  have  recovered.  The  autopsy  revealed  the  left  lung-; 
solidly  attached  over  a  large  surface  to  the  thoracic  wall  and  dia- 
phragm. One-third  of  the  organ  was  encysted  and  beginning  to  disin- 
tegrate, another  third  showed  more  recent  hepatization  and  was  not 
yet  encysted.  A  section  showed  the  characteristic  marbled  appearance^ 
and  the  difl'erence  in  the  age  of  the  inflammatory  process  in  various 
parts  of  the  lung. 

Members  of  the  State  Commission  have  since  informed  me  that  the 
bull  continued  to  fail  and  was  destroyed  by  the  owner  on  the  27th  of 
October.  Before  this,  however,  the  Commission  was  called  September 
18  to  see  a  new  case  of  the  disease,  which  had  developed  on  the  farm 
of  Amos  Williams,  the  second  neighbor  south  from  the  originally  in- 
fected premises.  This  was  a  cow,  which  presented  the  typical  symp- 
toms and  ])ost  mortem  appearances  of  pleuro-pneumonia,  having  been 
condemned  and  killed  by  the  Commission. 

To  recapitulate :  H.  E.  Williams  had  seven  animals  affected  out  of  his 
lierd  of  nine  by  the  introduction  of  the  cow  from  Kew  Jersey,  which 
animal  was  so  slightly  diseased  as  never  to  attract  attention.  Of  the 
seven  sick  ones  three  died  of  the  disease.  Two  of  those  slaughtered 
probably  could  not  have  recovered ;  one  of  the  slaughtered  oxen  was^ 
improving,  while  the  remaining  cow  was  ver^^  sick  when  I  last  saw  her. 
The  adjoining  farm  on  the  north  and  the  second  one  on  the  south  each 
lost  one  animal  from  the  disease.  There  were,  consequently,  nine  ani- 
mals affected  in  this  outbreak. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

October  3  and  4  I  visited  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  company 
with  Mr.  T.  J.  Edge,  special  agent  of  the  gov^ernor,  and  Dr.  Bridge,  State 
Veterinarian.  On  the  farm  of  W.  P.  Thomas  I  witnessed  the  slaughter 
of  3  cows,  and  on  the  farm  of  J.  H.  Garret  I  saw  5  others  killed, 
these  having  been  condemned  by  the  State  authorities  as  affected  with 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


13 


•contagious  pleuropneumonia.  The  autopsies  revealed  the  existence  of 
a  very  similar  condition  in  each  of  the  animals.  In  most  cases  a  whole 
lung  was  hepatized  and  firmly  attached  to  the  diaphragm  and  ribs.  In 
•several  of  the  animals  both  lungs  were  affected.  The  pleural  cavity 
■contained  large  quantities  of  straw-colored  effusion,  and  the  connective 
tissue  of  the  lungs  was  excessively  distended  with  exudation  of  a  simi- 
lar liquid.  The  inflammation  was  very  plainly  of  a  progressive  char- 
acter, and  the  marbling  of  the  lung  was  as  distinct  as  in  any  cases  I  have 
•ever  seen. 

The  disease  was  introduced  into  this  section  by  a  car-load  of  14  cows 
brought  by  John  Noble  from  Baltimore.  Where  these  cows  were  or- 
iginally infected  is  a  contested  point  between  the  authorities  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  those  of  Maryland  ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  outbreak  near  West  Chester  was  caused  by  this  lot  of  animals. 

These  cows  were  sold  as  follows :  July  19,  to  W.  H.  Shepherd,  1 ;  July 
26,  to  W.  P.  Thomas,  3 ;  July  26,  to  H.  Euches,  4 ;  July  27,  to  J.  H. 
•Garret,  2  ;  August  1,  to  J.  Kelly,  2  ;  not  traced  at  time  of  report,  2. 

Mr.  Shepherd's  cow  was  found  sick  with  symptoms  of  pleuro  pneu- 
monia September  8,  and  slaughtered  by  the  State  authorities.  The 
autopsy  revealed  the  characteristic  lesions  of  lung  plague.  September 
13  a  cow  was  found  affected  with  the  same  disease  and  slaughtered  on 
Mr.  Garret's  farm.  September  29  it  was  necessary  to  slaughter  one  of 
Mr.  Thomas'  cows.  October  1  it  was  found  that  two  cows  had  alread^-^ 
died  on  Mr.  Euches'  farm,  and  that  six  others  were  sick. 

According  to  information  received  from  Dr.  Bridge,  October  23, 1884, 
the  number  of  cattle  exposed  and  slaughtered  on  account  of  sickness 
was  as  follows : 


Owner. 

Number 
exposed. 

Number 
killed. 

W.  P.  Thomas 

42 
29 
33 

1 

42 

12 

J.  H.  Garret     

14 

W.  H.  Shepherd 

1 

Total        

105 

69 

Eight  adjoining  herds  were  infected  by  the  above,  as  follows: 


Owner. 


Number 
exposed. 


"W.n.  Pratt 17 

M.  S.  Garrett 11 

K.  J.  Lewis !  15 

C.  Sniedle V  'J2 

Geo.  P.  lli'iglics !  20 

W.  F.  Dutton I  16 

W.  Evans  t  f) 

L.V.and  W.E.Smedley 21 

Total 1  127 


Number 
killed. 


14  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

The  affected  cows  which  I  saw  were  native  animals  in  good  condition^ 
They  had  excellent  pastures  to  run  on,  and  there  was  no  local  cause 
whatever  which  could  be  suspected  of  producing  this  or  any  other 
disease.  Besides,  the  time  of  year  was  not  oue  in  which  acute  lung* 
diseases  are  seen  among  cattle.  Nearly  every  one  of  the  affected  lungs- 
which  I  saw  when  in  this  State  showed  the  typical  lesions  of  pleuro- 
pneumonia so  plainly  that,  according  to  the  best  authorities  in  the 
veterinary  profession  the  world  over,  any  one  of  them  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  afford  a  safe  basis  for  diagnosing  the  disease. 

Besides  the  herds  infected  by  the  contagion  introduced  with  the  lot 
of  cattle  from  Baltimore,  six  herds  have  been  infected  from  other  sources 
since  September,  1883.  The  following  table  shows  the  number  exposed 
in  each  of  these  and  the  number  destroyed  after  showing  symptoms  of 
the  disease: 


Owner. 


Number 
exposed. 


Number 
killed. 


1 

3 

1 

,5  ' 

2 

20  , 

14 

9  . 

5 

1^  1 

2 

10  ! 

0 

64 

24 

232 

119 

F.  CaiT 

W .  Williamson 

F.  Galloy 

Heisey 

Myers    •. 

J.  Noble 

Total 

Total  iu  preceding  tables 

Total  for  State  of  Pennsylvania 296 


NEW   JERSEY. 

Dr.  Rowland,  an  Inspector  of  this  Department,  stationed  at  Jersey  City,^ 
N.  J.,  discovered  during  the  summer  of  1883  that  animals  affected  with 
pleuropneumonia  were  being  shipped  to  New  York  from  Hunterdon 
County,  New  Jersey.  An  investigation  was  ordered  by  Dr.  E.  M.  Hunt, 
secretary  of  the  New  Jersey  State  board  of  health,  and  a  number  of 
herds  were  found  in  Hunterdon  County  which  had  been  for  some  time 
affected  with  this  disease.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  owner  of  the 
affected  herds  was  a  large  cattle  dealer  who  gathered  up  cheap  animals 
from  various  parts  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  and  to  the  ad- 
ditional fact  thar  the  disease  had  been  ui)on  his  [)reinises  for  an  indeti- 
iiiie  time,  the  origin  of  the  trouble  could  not  be  satisfactorily  traced. 

The  owners  of  the  infected  herds  had  resorted  to  inoculation  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  the  disease,  and  it  was  said  that  all  fresh  animals  which 
arrived  were  speedily  inoculated.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  the  losses 
were  very  heavy,  though  their  full  extent  could  not  be  ascertained.  Dr. 
Miller,  who  investigated  the  condition  of  these  animals,  November  1, 
informed  me  that  out  of  one  herd,  containing  (K)  head,  L*L*  had  been  lost ; 
from  another  containing  05  head,  8  were  known  to  have  died,  and  1  was 
killed  to  obtain  virus  for  inoculation ;  from  another,  containing  46  head, 
8  had  died  ;  from  a  fourth,  containing  70  head,  10  had  died  ;  and  from 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  15 

a  fifth,  6  had  died.  There  had,  consequently,  been  at  least  55  deaths  f 
in  addition,  a  certain  number  had  partially  recovered,  and  some  diseased 
animals  had  been  sold. 

According  to  the  l)est  information  we  could  obtain  the  total  number 
of  cases  of  pleuropneumonia  which  had  occurred  in  this  county  was 
not  less  than  100.  These  herds  were  quarantined  and  the  State  authori- 
ties are  doing  everything  possible  with  their  limited  ai)propriatiou  to 
stamp  out  the  disease  ;  but  where  so  many  animals  have  been  e^xposed, 
and  where  the  contagion  has  been  sown  broadcast  over  the  pastures  of 
half  a  dozen  farms,  experience  shows  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
remove  all  danger  except  by  killing  all  animals  exposed  and  quaran- 
tining the  farms  for  a  long  time. 

MARYLAND. 

Owing  to  the  variety  of  reports  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  pleuro- 
X)neumonia  in  Maryland,  Dr.  Kose  was  directed  to  proceed  to  Balti- 
more during  the  last  week  of  October,  1883,  and  examine  a  sufficient 
number  of  stables  to  form  a  basis  for  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  disease  in  that  section.  The  cases  of  sickness  men- 
tioned are  only  those  in  which  the  symptoms  indicated  pleuro  pneu- 
monia. The  following  is  a  list  of  stables  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  examined,  with  a  condensed  sumnmry  of  tbe  information  ob- 
tained : 

Stable  No.     1:  Contains  thirty-five  cows.      One  chronic  case,  two  recent  deaths. 
Stable  No.    2:  Thirteen  cows.     No  disease. 

Sixteen  cows.     One  chronic  case,  two  recent  deaths. 

Seven  cows.     No  information. 

Nineteen  cows.     Admit  that  cows  arc  exchanged  as  soon  as  they 

show  sifjns  of  disease. 
Nine  cows.     Three  recent  deaths. 
Two  cows.     Admits  recent  deaths  from  lung  disease. 
Thirteen  cows.     Two  recent  deaths  from  acute  linig  disease. 
9  :  Seveiiteeu  cows.     Have  lost  many  in  the  past.     All  are  now  well. 
Stable  No.  10:  Eighteen  cows.     Have  lost  two  during  the  summer. 
Stable  No.  11  :  Nineteen  cows.     Would  neither  allow  an  examination  nor  give  in- 
formation. 
Stable  No.  12  :  Seven  co^s.     None  sick.     No  information. 
Stable  No.  I'.i:  Eleven  cows.     None  sick. 
Stable  No.  14:  Fifty-six  cows.     One  acure  and  four  chronic  cases  of  pleuro-pnen- 

monia.     Have  lost  lieavilj'  in  past  years. 
Stable  No.  15:    Eighteen   cows.     Five   sick  with  acute    lung  disease  within   two 

months,  of  which  three  died. 
Stable  No.  16:  Forty-two  cows.     Acknowledge  a  loss  of  over  200  cows  from  lung 

disease  within  three  years.     Several  now  coughing. 
Stable  No.  17:  Fifty  animals.     No  disease. 
Stable  No.  Ifi:  Thirty-six  aniujals.     No  disease. 

Stable  No.  lU:  Original  herd  12aniuials.  Three  di.'d  during  September  aud  October. 
Calf  died  in  October  which  State  Veterinarian  examiiu-d  aud  pro- 
nouuced  affected  with  pleuro  pneumonia.  Three  still  sick  with 
same  disease.  First  cow  to  sicken  eauie  from  another  stable  in 
Baltimore  within  a  fesv  weeks. 


Stable  No. 
Stable  No. 
Stable  No. 

3 
4 
5 

Stable  No. 
Stable  No. 
Stable  No. 
Stable  No. 

6 

7 
H 
9 

16  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

The  lienis  in  the  nineteen  stables  referred  to  above  contained  398  ani- 
mals, of  which  12  were  found  to  be  sick  or  only  partially  recovered  at 
the  time  of  inspection;  3  cows  had  recently  been  exchanged  while  sick, 
a,ud  18  recent  deaths  had  occurred.  The  total  number  of  animals  which 
had  recently  sickened  with  symptoms  of  pleuro-pneumonia  in  the  above 
stables  was,  consequently,  33,  or  8.3  j)er  cent. 

This  inspection,  while  it  cannot  be  taken  as  a  very  accurate  indica- 
tion of  the  proportion  of  the  Baltimore  dairy  cattle  which  are  con- 
stantly affected  with  pleuropneumonia,  is  nevertheless  suflScient  to 
show  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  stables  are  infected,  and  that 
many  cases  of  the  disease  occur. 

A  considerable  number  of  inoculation  and  cohabitation  experiments 
have  been  made  and  are  still  in  progress,  and  will  be  given  in  detail  in 
the  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry. 

The  following  statement  was  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  House  Com- 
mittee on  Agriculture  in  January,  1884  : 

EXTENT  OF  PLEURO-PNEUMONIA  AND  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  NATIONAL 
ACTION  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS. 

The  extent  of  territory  infeeterl  with  contagions  plcuro-pueamonia  of  cattle  and 
the  number  of  ani'nals  actnally  sntt'eriug  from  this  disease,  are  insignificant  in  com- 
parison with  the  annual  direct  aud  indirect  losses  traceable  to  it,  and  the  danger  to 
which  our  immense  live-stock  industry  is  continually  subjected. 

In  Connecticut  two  herds  were  infected  during  the  past  summer,  in  which  12  ani- 
mals were  exposed  and  7  contracted  the  disease.  In  one  of  these  herds  the  affected 
animal  was  destroyed,  and  at  last  accounts  no  others  had  contracted  the  disease;  in 
the  other  herd  4  animals  had  died,  or  had  been  killed,  and  2  with  very  extensively  dis- 
eased lungs  remained  in  quarantine.  Both  of  these  were  Jerseys,  and  the  owner  re- 
fused to  have  them  destroyed.  What  has  been  done  with  them,  or  what  will  be,  I  am 
unable  to  say,  as  the  State  authorities  seem  powerless  to  proceed  beyond  quarantine, 
and  this  seems  to  have  been  bj'  no  means  secure. 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  although  the  disease  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
western  eiul  of  Long  Island,  to  Staten  Island,  and  New  York  City,  these  localities  are 
quite  extensively  infected,  and  as  there  are  more  than  two  thousand  stables,  some  of 
which  contain  several  hundred  cows,  and  many  of  which  contain  from  .'jO  to  100,  it  is 
the  most  dangerous  district  in  the  country  at  this  time.  Recent  reports  are  to  the 
effect  that  the  disease  is  extending  through  the  river  counties,  and  exists  in  herds 
located  from  50  to  60  miles  north  of  New  York  City.  How  many  cattle  are  affected 
in  these  counties  I  am  unable  to  say,  but  the  existeuce  of  the  disease  here  is  really  of 
much  greater  importance  to  the  country  at  large  than  the  number  of  diseased  ani- 
mals would  lead  one  to  suppose,  because  it  is  a  district  where  many  thoroughbred  cattle 
are  raised  and  from  which  they  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

New  .Jersey  was  recently  supposed  to  be  nearly  free  from  pleuro-pneumonia,  but  the 
iact  that  a  number  of  cases  occuried  without  the  knowledge  of  the  State  authorities, 
that  a  still  larger  number  of  herds  were  lately  known  to  be  infected  in  Union  aud 
Essex  Counties,  and  that  a  very  extensive  outbreak  in  Hunterdon  County  was  re- 
•cently  traced  by  means  of  sick  cattle  shipped  to  the  New  York  market,  and  discovered 
by  the  insp<M;tor  employed  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  who  is 
stationed  at  Jersey  City,  leads  to  the  suspicion  that  a  thorough  inspection  of  the 
State  might  bring  to  light  still  other  cases.  The  Hunterdon  County  outbreak  was 
one  of  the  most  extensive  that  has  recently  occurred.  It  was  supposed  to  have  origi- 
nated from  a  car-load  of  cows  brought  from  Pennsylvania  ;  but  where  these  were  in- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  1  7 

fected  is  not  known.  Seven  herds,  at  last  accounts,  were  in  quarantine;  and  as  all 
were  large  herds,  containing  from  40  to  70  cattle,  a  large  number  of  animals  were 
exposed. 

Inoculation  was  extensively  practiced  to  check  the  fatality;  but,  in  spite  of  this, 
reliable  authority  places  the  loss  at  over  50  head. 

In  Pennsylvania  there  has  recently  been  another  very  extensive  outbreak,  which 
was  the  result  of  taking  a  car-load  of  14  cows  from  the  Calvert  stock-yards  in  Balti- 
more to  Chester  County.  Most  of  these  cows  were  taken  into  large  dairy  herds, 
which  they  thoroughly  infet^ted.  In  each  of  these  cases  the  Baltimore  cows  were  the 
first  to  sicken,  and  a  large  proiiortiou  of  the  native  cattle  were  soon  affected  with  the 
same  disease.  These  herds  were  visited  the  3d  of  October  by  the  Veterinarian  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  in  compauy  with  the  State  authorities,  who  killed  8 
of  the  animals  in  his  presence  in  order  to  satisfy  him  as  to  the  nature  of  the  disease. 
The  cases  were  typical  cases  of  pleurorpneamouia,  and  all  those  appearances  were 
present  which  were  recently  accepted  by  the  International  Veterinary  Congress  held 
at  Brussels  as  characteristic  of  contagious  pleuro-pueumonia.  In  most  cases  a  whole 
lung  was  hepatized;  the  inflammation  was  of  different  ages,  showing  the  jirogressive 
character  of  the  disease;  the  interlobular  tissue  was  greatly  distended  with  the  exu- 
dation, and  the  pleurisy  was  intense.  According  to  an  official  report,  dated  October  30, 
the  number  of  animals  known  to  have  been  exposed  was  104,  and  the  number  of  sick 
ones  that  had  been  killed  or  had  died  was  46.  A  semi-official  report  of  the  present 
hionth  ])laces  the  number  destroyed  at  70.  It  is  now  believed  that  the  disease  has 
been  entirely  overcome,  and  that  the  State  of  Penasylvania  is  free  from  it. 

In  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia  there  are  many  infected  herds  in  which 
a  comparatively  large  number  t>f  auinuils  annually  coutract  the  disease.  Uy  direction 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  a  reliable  Inspector  was  sent  to  Baltimore  late, 
in  October,  to  learn  the  condition  of  the  stables  there  as  regards  this  disease. 

Nineteen  stables,  containing  39'S  animals,  were  examined.  In  twelve  of  these  the 
infection  was  admitted;  one  had  lost  more  than  200  animals  within  three  years; 
others  had  lost  heavily  for  years;  12  sick  animals  were  found,  18  recent  deaths  were 
admitted,  and  3  sick  cows  had  just  been  sold  or  exchanged.  This  number  of  sta- 
bles comprises  but  a  small  part  of  those  in  the  vicinity  of  Baltimore,  but  it  is  believed 
that  the  number  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  presence  and  dangerous  character  of 
the  disease.  We  have  no  information  of  pleuro-pueumonia  in  the  country  districts  of 
Maryland  at  any  great  distance  from  the  cities. 

One  or  more  herds  uear  the  District  of  Columbia  have  recently  lost  a  number  of 
cows,  audat  latest  accounts  had  some  sick.  Within  the  District,  without  making  any 
regular  inspection,  three  infected  herds  have  been  found  where  from  3  to  6  animals 
are  admitted  to  have  been  lost  within  the  year.  lu  Virginia  there  are  stables  from 
which  auiuialshave  recently  been  lost  with  sj^mptoms  of  this  disease;  but  none  of  these 
could  be  secured  for  examination,  and  therefore  we  can  not  be  positive  in  regard  to 
the  nature  of  the  disease. 

RK.\SONS   FOR   BELIEVING   IT   CONTAGIOUS. 

The  first  great  reason  for  believing  this  to  be  contagious  pleuropneumonia  is  the 
fact  that  nowhere  in  the  country  outside  of  the  comparatively  small  strip  of  territory 
stretching  from  Connecticut  to  Virginia,  and  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  have 
any  cases  been  found  which  bear  any  close  resemblance  to  the  disease  under  consid- 
eration. If  this  disease  were  the  result  of  climatic  causes,  or  if  it  were  produced  by 
imi)r(>per  food  and  care,  then  we  should  certainly  find  it  distributed  over  the  whole 
country,  or  at  least  in  all  of  those  paits  of  it  where  similar  conditions  exist.  It  can- 
not be  originated  l»y  the  manner  of  stabling  and  feeding  cows  near  our  Eastern  cities, 
for  substantially  the  same  conditions  exist  at  Rochester,  Buflaio,  Cleveland,  Detroit, 
Chicago,  Saint  Louis,  Cincinnati,  and  other  Western  cities,  and  no  veterinarian  has 

5751  D  A 2 


18  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

been  able  to  find  any  similar  cases  of  disease  there,  althoujjli  special  inspection  has 
been  made  bj^  competent  persons. 

The  disease  is  not  confined  to  stable  cows,  however,  nor  to  those  seasons  of  the  year 
when  acute  lung  diseases  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 
The  outbreak  referred  to  in  Connecticut  occurred  in  the  summer,  in  a  country  district, 
and  where  the  cattle  were  running  upon  nice  pasture  fields.  The  extensive  outbreaks 
in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  also  happened  in  summer,  and  were  in  the  best  farm- 
ing districts  of  these  States. 

In  this  connection  attention  is  called  to  the  ff^ct  that  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
about  ninety  hei'ds  have  been  infected  since  March,  1879,  and  that  notwithstanding 
the  appointment  of  special  agents  in  every  part  of  the  State,  and  the  investigation  of 
all  cattle  diseases  wherever  found,  there  was  no  disease  resembling  pleuro-pneumonia 
discovered  except  in  eight  of  the  sixty-seven  counties  of  that  State.  The  remaining 
fifty-nine  counties  liave  been  free  from  any  suspicion  of  this  plague.  What  is  even 
more  significant  is  the  fact  that  these  counties  are  not  distributed  over  various  parts 
of  the  State,  but  that  they  join  each  other,  and  are  all  in  the  southeastern  corner  of 
the  State,  where  there  is  the  greatest  danger  of  infection  by  cattle  brought  from  Phil- 
adelphia and  Baltimore.  With  seventeen  of  these  herds  the  infection  was  traced  to 
cattle  from  Baltimore  or  other  points  in  Maryland;  with  twenty-one  it  was  traced  to 
Philadelphia  ;  with  ten  it  was  traced  to  cattle  from  herds  in  Pennsylvania  known  to 
be  diseased. 

The  most  favorable  conditions  of  life  were  not  sufficient  to  protect  the  cattle  where 
this  disease  was  introduced.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  a  number  of  the  out- 
breaks referred  to  occurred  during  the  summer,  and  that  the  animals  were  running 
upon  irreproachable  pasture  fields.  Many  of  the  affected  cows  were  young  and  in  fine 
condition.  In  Connecticut  a  Jersey  bull,  less  than  two  years  old,  and  two  steers  fit 
for  beef,  were  among  the  victims.  Again,  the  disease  as  we  see  it  here  does  not  occur 
in  isolated  herds  a  single  case  at  a  time,  as  does  non-infectious  lung  disease,  but  when 
it  enters  a  herd  a  majority  of  the  cattle  are  affected  sooner  or  later.  Some  of  the 
herds  in  Brooklyn  and  Baltimore  have  been  losing  cows  from  this  jilague  for  years, 
and  one  near  the  latter  city,  where  but  about  fifty  cows  were  kept  at  a  time,  has  lost 
between  200  and  300  cows  within  three  years. 

These  instances,  all  recent,  are  referred  to,  not  as  all  the  evidence  bearing  on  this 
point,  but  simply  as  examples  of  what  has  been  occurring  for  years  past;  and  it  is 
believed  that  they  cannot  be  explained  on  any  other  hypothesis  than  the  contagious- 
ness of  the  disease. 

DANGER    GREATER  THAN  EXTENT  OF  INFECTED   TERRITORY  AND  NUMBER  OF  DISEASED 

ANIMALS  WOULD  INDICATE. 

Glancing  over  the  territory  which  I  have  stated  to  be  infected,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  it  is  not  extensive — a  single  farm  with  perhaps  five  animals  in  Connecti- 
cut, about  four  counties  in  Now  York,  as  many  in  New  Jersey,  two  or  three  counties 
in  Maryland,  and  possihly  a  few  stables  in  Delaware  and  Virginia. 

In  most  of  tlie  infected  herds  there  are  but  one  or  two  sick  animals  at  a  time,  and 
frequently  there  are  none;  for  whei'e  the  disease  has  existed  for  a  certain  time  tiie 
suscejjtible  aniTiials  die  off  and  only  those  which  possess  a  certain  immunity  from  it 
remain. 

As  about  20  per  cent,  of  all  the  animals  exposed  are  able  to  resist  the  contagion  in- 
definitely, a  herd  of  comparatively  insusceptible  cattle  is  in  time  acquired,  and  the 
time  necessary  for  this  is  shortened  both  in  Baltimore  and  Brooklyn  by  the  practice 
of  inoculation. 

But  these  stables  and  grounds  remain  infected,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  new  cows 
brought  into  them  contract  the  disease  unless  they  are  previously  protected  by  inoc- 
ulation. The  practice  of  inoculation  does  not  destroy  the  infection;  on  the  other 
hand  it  keeps  it  up,  but  it  eriahles  dairymen  to  keep  their  cows  in   infected  stables 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  19 

without  great  loss,  wbeu  without  it  more  than  half  of  the  uew  cows  brought  into  then 
would  surely  die. 

Another  fact  of  great  importance  brought  out  by  the  experiments  of  the  French 
pleuro-pneumonia  commission  is  that  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  animals  exposed  to  this 
disease  show  no  symptoms  of  it  beyond  a  slight  cough.  Snch  animals  are  probably  as 
dangerous  toothers  as  those  which  have  it  in  a  more  severe  form,  and  yet  they  can  be 
transported  to  various  parts  of  the  country  without  exciting  the  least  suspicion. 

Tlie  auinuil  which  is  supposed  to  have  caused  the  outbreak  in  C(mnecticnt  was  prob- 
ably in  this  «on(litiou,  as  a  careful  examination  of  her  luugs  did  not  enable  the  veter- 
inarians to  detect  any  evidences  of  the  disease  ;  and  yet  pleuro-jineumonia  existed 
in  thestal)le  from  which  she  came,  and  her  admission  iuto  the  new  herd  was  followed 
by  the  seven  cases  that  have  been  mentioned.  Similar  instances  are  referred  to  again 
and  again  by  the  veteriuarians  of  every  country  where  the  disease  exists. 

These  infected  districts,  though  small,  are  then  a  real  danger  to  the  whole  country, 
because  all  the  way  from  Connecticut  to  Virginia  there  is  a  large  and  increasing  num- 
ber of  herds  of  thoroughbred  cattle,  which  are  frequently  ship])ed  to  the  West  and 
sonie  of  which  have  from  time  to  time  been  infected  with  this  disease.  Fortunately, 
the  owners  of  thoroughbred  cattle  have  generally  had  too  much  regard  for  their  repu- 
tation to  ship  cattle  when  there  was  any  disease  in  their  herds,  and  the  common  cat- 
tle have  not  been  sent  to  a  sufficient  distance  to  do  much  harm. 

But  with  the  increased  price  of  cattle  a  large  number  are  being  shipped  from  the 
East  toward  the  West,  and  the  danger  of  carrying  the  disease  is  consequently  increas- 
ing. If  the  car-load  of  cattle  shipjjed  from  Baltimore  to  Chester  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, had  gone  to  the  ranges  of  the  West,  they  might  have  done  irreparable  harm. 
Again,  the  thoroughbred  Jersey  cow  which  went  from  an  infected  stable  in  New  Jer- 
say  might  as  readily  have  been  shipped  to  the  W^est;  and  I  have  been  informed  that 
if  the  Connecticut  outbreak  had  occurred  a  few  months  later  one  or  more  of  theherds 
would  have  been  sent,  according  to  contract,  to  a  Western  State.  Now,  while  it  is 
true  that  i)leuro-pneimionia  has  existed  in  the  East  for  forty  years  without  having 
been  carried  to  the  West,  it  mnst  be  admitted,  from  what  has  occurred  so  many  times 
in  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut,  that  there  has  been  danger  of  this,  and  that  this 
danger  is  increasing  with  the  larger  number  of  cattle  now  being  shipped  in  that  direc- 
tion. No  doubt  this  danger  has  been  exaggerated,  but  the  fact  that  there  is  danger, 
and  that  the  disease  once  carried  to  the  AVestern  herding  grounds  would  probably  be 
beyond  our  control,  if  we  can  judge  from  the  experience  of  Australia  and  South  Af- 
rica, issufticient  to  show  the  importance  of  grappling  with  it  while  it  can  be  so  easily 
handled.  The  rapidity  with  which  a  disease  spreads  on  these  ranges,  when  once  in- 
troduced, is  illustrated  by  an  occurrence  of  last  summer  in  Southwestern  Texas.  A 
drove  of  cattle  brought  a  commuiiical)le  dist  ase  to  that  section,  which  the  army  sur- 
geons believed  to  b(>  contagious  ])leuro-i>uenmonia ;  but  before  any  careful  examination 
could  be  made  several  hundred  cattlehad  died,  and  a  large  territory  was  infected.  For- 
tunately, investigation  showed  that  this  was  not  pleuro-pneumonia,  buta  disease  which 
does  not  outlast  a  single  season  of  the  year.  If  it  had  proved  to  be  pleuro-pneumonia, 
would  it  not  have  been  a  national  calamity  ?  With  a  large  territory  already  infected, 
with  no  numey  and  no  power  to  control  the  disea.se,  and  occurring  in  summer  months, 
before  the  State  and  national  legislative  bodies  would  convene,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  any  etfcctive  measure  coulil  have  been  adopted. 

TIIK    INKl'FICIENCY    OK    STATE    ACTION. 

Though  a  number  of  attempts  have  been  made  by  the  States  now  infected  to  rid 
themselves  of  pleuro-pneumonia  these  have  generally  or  always  tailed,  because  for 
various  reasons  the  work  was  not  thoroughly  done.  We  saw  the  State  authorities 
of  Connecticut  unable  to  exterminate  the  disease  a  few  months  <ago,  when  but  a  sin- 
gle herd  contained  sick  animals.  The  stables  of  Brooklyn  were  never  under  com- 
plete supervision,  and  some  could  not  be  entered  by  the  inspectors  even  when  the 


20  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

State  of  New  York  was  most  active  in  tlio  endeavors  at  extirpation  ;  and  tliougli  the 
autliorities  of  New  Jersey  have  been  engaged  at  the  same  task  for  five  years,  the  State 
has  probably  never  during  that  time  been  entirely  free  from  pleuro-pnenraonia. 
In  Maryland  the  assertion  has  been  made  again  and  again  that  there  were  no  cases 
of  this  disease  in  tlie  State,  and  yet  during  any  jjart  of  this  time  a  thorough  inspec- 
tion could  not  have  failed  to  reveal  a  considerable  number.  At  best  the  attempts  of 
the  States  have  been  spasmodic;  and  while  one  State  was  earnestly  striving  to  accom- 
plish something  a  neighboring  one  would  allow  the  shipment  of  diseased  cattle,  and 
counteract  the  influence  of  the  foruu»r.  As  a  rule,  therefore,  State  action  has  never 
been  thorough,  and  the  lack  of  unity  of  action  between  the  States  has  prevented  any 
lasting  benefit  even  when  much  has  been  accomplished. 

ADVANTAGES     OF     THE     WOKK     BEING    DIRECTED     BY    THE     UNITED    STATES    GOVEKN- 

MENT. 

A  national  direction  of  the  work  for  the  extermination  of •pleuro-pneumonia 
would  overcome  at  once  the  discouraging  features  which  have  done  so  much  to  pre- 
vent the  eftbrts  of  the  individual  States  from  being  effective.  With  inspections  in 
every  infected  State  the  shipment  of  diseased  cattle  would  soon  cease;  new  out- 
breaks would  thus  be  prevented,  and  the  danger  which  has  so  long  menaced  the 
great  cattle  interests  of  the  country  would  be  removed.  The  work  would  be  more 
thorough  and  energetic,  because  those  engaged  in  it  would  not  be  directly  or  indi- 
rectly dependent  upou  the  good-will  of  the  interested  cattle  owners  for  their  posi- 
tions, and  the  plea  of  inability  to  pay  for  the  diseased  cattle  which  ought  to  be 
slaughtered  would  also  be  overcome.  These  have  been  the  principal  obstacles  to  the 
success  of  State  action,  and  practically  they  are  so  great  as  to  make  it  next  to  im- 
possible for  the  States  alone  to  free  themselves  from  this  i)lague. 

THE    PRESENCE    OF    PLEURO-PNEUMONIA   COSTS    ANNUALLY   MORE    THAN   WOULD    BE 
NECESSARY  FOR   ITS    DESTRUCTION. 

Owing  to  the  presence  of  pleuro-pueumonia  in  the  United  States,  every  steer  shipped 
to  Great  Britain  nmst  be  slaughtered  withiu  a  certain  time  on  the  wharf  where  he  is 
landed.  This  restriction  upon  the  export  cattle  trade  is  said  by  competent  authori- 
ties to  make  the  price  of  our  steers  average  $10  less  than  similar  animals  shipped  from 
Canada.  With  over  100,000  beeves  going  abroad  every  year,  this  makes  a  loss  of 
$1,000,000  annually,  or  enough  to  clear  our  country  of  the  disease.  Besides  this,  there 
are  the  continual  losses  which  are  going  on  in  the  infected  districts,  and  the  disturbed 
condition  of  trade  from  the  many  false  alarms  in  regard  to  the  spread  of  this  disease, 
the  entire  annual  losses  being  estimated  by  good  authorities  as  high  as  $3,000,000. 

IMPORTANCE   OF   INVESTIGATING  OTHER  DISEASES. 

The  proposition  of  establishing  a  permanent  bureau  for  investigating  the  communi- 
cable diseases  of  anin'ials  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance.  While  we  have  no 
more  disease  than  other  countries  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  our  animals,  the 
enornu)us  development  of  our  live-stock  industry  has  luade  the  question  of  contagious 
diseases  one  of  peculiar  interest  to  us.  The  cause  of  these  plagues,  which  has  been 
an  impenetrable  mystery  during  all  the  past  ages  of  the  w^orld,  is  being  revealed  by 
the  science  of  to-day,  and  the  infiuitely  small  organisms  which  are  able  to  produce 
such  terrible  havoc  in  our  flocks  and  herds  are  at  last  being  brought  under  subjection 
themselves,  and  their  study  has  revealed  much  of  the  greatest  value  to  us  in  our 
•warfare  against  them.  A  country  with  so  much  at  stake,  with  millions  of  dollaivs  an- 
nually swept  away  by  this  class  of  maladies,  cannot  affoi-d  to  be  idle.  Other  nations 
which  have  nuich  less  cai)ital  invested  in  animals  than  we  have,  see  the  necessity  for 
this  work  and  are  making  ])rovisions  for  it;  and  it  is  to  the  credit  of  our  country 
that  wo  we're  one  of  the  first  to  enter  this  field,  and  that  results  have  been  accom- 
plished which  will  bear  comparison  with  the  investigations  of  any  other  country. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  21 

But  while  much  has  been  done,  while  niillious  of  dollars  have  already  been  saved  to 
our  fanners  by  the  facts  thus  far  discovertid,  we  have  only  made  a  begiuuinj;  iu  the 
great  work  that  is  before  us.  Some  of  the  most  importaut  diseases  affecting  our  ani- 
mals are  still  mysteries  to  us,  and  though  they  are  distributed  over  large  territories 
and  decimate  the  live  stock,  we  are  ignorant  of  their  cause;  we  do  not  know  how 
thej^  are  kept  up  from  year  to  year ;  we  have  uo  means  of  combating  them,  and  the  idea 
of  freeing  ourselves  from  their  ravages  has  scarcely  dawned  upon  us.  A  striking  ex- 
ample of  the  necessity  of  such  work  is  seen  in  the  recent  investigations  of  Texas  cattle 
fever.  This  disease  has  been  advancing  and  infecting  new  territory  for  a  century, 
and  uutil  the  last  year  or  two  we  knew  nothing  about  it,  and  our  best  informed  vet- 
erinarians and  stockmen  did  not  suppose  that  it  was  found  in  one-fifth  of  the  terri- 
tory which  it  has  actually  overrun.  These  were  points  which  it  was  necessary  to  un- 
derstand before  either  legislative  bodies  or  individuals  could  adopt  intelligent  meas- 
ures for  preventing  the  annual  losses  which  have  been  most  discouraging  to  the  cattle 
Industry  in  large  sections  of  the  coiintry.  And  with  every  disease  there  are  equally 
iiui)ortant  points  still  to  be  investigated. 

The  laboratory  and  experiment  station  which  have  been  fitted  up  during  the  past 
summer  under  the  direction  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  for  investigating  con- 
tagious diseases,  make  it  possible  to  attempt  the  solution  of  questions  which  were 
formerly  beyond  our  reach.  The  laboratory  contains  the  most  improved  apparatus 
for  such  investigations,  much  of  which  was  constructed  according  to  new  designs,  es- 
pecially for  this  work,  and  it  is  safe  to  saj^  that  the  facilities  here  are  now  equal  to 
those  possessed  by  investigators  of  similar  diseases  in  any  country,  and  in  some  re- 
spects they  greatly  surpass  them. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say  there  is  not  a  department  of  original  research  or  of  agri- 
cultural investigation  in  regard  to  which  there  is  more  pressing  need  for  development 
than  this,  and  none  which  promises  to  effect  a  greater  saving.  Our  losses  are  now 
heavy,  but  they  must  increase  as  our  animal  population  increases,  as  new  diseases  are 
introduced,  and  fresh  areas  are  infected.  But  it  is  not  alone  a  question  of  dollars;  the 
investigation  of  animal  contagia  must  throw  new  light  on  those  human  plagues  which 
'u  our  country  alone  sweep  a  <|uarter  of  a  million  of  human  lives  out  of  existence  each 
year.  Some  of  these  animal  diseases  are  communicable  to  man,  and  have  a  greater 
influence  over  our  health  and  lives  thau  is  generally  supposed,  and  any  means  of  con- 
trolling them  cannot  fail  to  have  an  important  influence  on  humau  health  as  well. 


ENZOOTICS  OF  ERGOTISM. 

Early  in  March,  1SS4,  a  diseas(3  aniouj;-  the  cattle  of  Coffey  County, 
Kansas,  which  was  supposed  by  certain  veterinarians  to  be  foot-and- 
mouth  disease  in  a  most  virulent  form,  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  officers  of  that  State ;  and  such  exag-gerated  accounts  were  sent  to 
the  press  from  day  to  day  as  to  cause  a  feeling-  of  insecurity  and  alarm 
among  all  engaged  in  the  live-stock  industry  of  the  West.  The  3d  of 
March,  Dr.  Wilhite  visited  the  farm  of  Mr.  Daniel  Keith,  located  in  Cof- 
fey County,  4  miles  northwest  of  Neosho  Falls,  and  pronounced  the 
trouble  among  his  catthi  to  be  foot  andniouth  disease.  The  sanui  day 
Governor  Click  telegraphed  as  follows  : 

ToPEKA,  Kans.,  March  :?,  18f^4. 
Hon.  (iKO.  B.   Louixo, 

Coinmisniouer  of  AgricuUurc. 

A  very  malignant  disease  has  broken  out  among  the  cattle  in  Neosho  County,  this 
State.     It  is  supposed  to  be  the  foot-and-mouth  disease.     The  feet  become  sore  and 


22  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

soon  rot  off.  The  disease  sometimes  extends  to  the  knees.  Over  a  liundred  animals 
have  been  attacked  in  a  few  days.  Great  consternation  among  the  cattle  owners. 
Can  your  De[)artuient  send  here  a  competent  veterinary  snrgeon  ?  No  one  here  can 
advise  what  to  do. 

G.  W.  GLICK,  Governor  of  Kansas. 

Two  days  later  the  following  dispatch  was  received  : 

ToPEKA,  Kans.,  March  5,  1884. 
Hon.  Geo.  B.  Loring, 

Comviissioner  of  Agriculture : 
Veterinary  surgeon  reports  disease  of  which  I  advised  yon  tobefoot-aud-month  dis. 
ease. 

G.  W.  GLICK,   Gorerrior  of  Kansas. 

Ou  the  receipt  of  this  dispatch,  and  similar  representations  by  the 
Senators  from  Kansas,  Dr.  M.  R.  Trambower,  a  veterinarian  whose  pre- 
vious reports  of  various  diseases  had  leil  us  to  put  great  confidence,  in 
bis  knowledge  and  judgment,  was  directed  to  proceed  at  once  to  Neosho 
Falls,  and  make  an  early  report  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  disease 
among  cattle  which  was  said  to  exist  at  that  i)lace.  He  started  on  the 
6th,  but  could  not  reach  the  aftected  farms  until  the  9th  of  March. 

In  the  mean  time,  at  tht-  request  of  the  governor.  General  Augur  de- 
tailed Dr.  Holcombe,  of  the  arjiy  veterinary  service,  to  make  an  im- 
mediate investig  tion.  In  company  with  the  governor,  the  secretary 
of  tilt'  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  a  delegation  of  citizens  from 
Emporia,  Dr.  Holcombe  reached  Neosho  Falls  March  6,  and  after  a  hur- 
ried examination  of  the  Keith,  G-oodrich,  and  Bearl  herds  he  rei)orted 
that  the  disease  was  the  genuine  epizootic  aphtha  of  Europe.  The  fol- 
lowing dispatch  was  received  at  the  Department  of  Agriculture  the 
same  day : 

Neosho  Falls,  Kans,  March  6. 
Hon.  Geo.  B.  Lohixg, 

Commissioner  of  AgricuJture : 
Veterinary  surgeons  A.  A.  Holcomb  and  A.  H.  Wilhite  have  to-day  made  an  exami- 
nation of  the  infected  cattle,  and  pronounce  it  foot-and-mouth  disease.     Over  100 
Lead  are  affected,  but  the  disease  is  contined  to  stock  cattle  on  a  half  dozen  farms. 

G.  W.  GLICK,  Governor  of  Kansas. 

When  Dr.  Trumbower  reach  d  Neosho  Falls,  he  found  an  excited 
throng  of  people  who  urged  upon  him  the  necessity  of  making  an  im- 
mediate diagnosis,  and  relying  rather  upon  the  represent  itions  of  others, 
which  in  many  important  respects  i)roved  to  be  incorrect,  than  upon 
what  he  was  actually  able  to  see,  and  a  careful  judgment  bas  -d  upon 
this  alone,  he  was  led  to  concur  in  tlu'  opinion  of  the  professional  gen- 
tlemen who  had  been  upon  the  ground  for  the  i)reciHling  three  or  four 
days. 

On  Mar(;h  10,  Dr.  Holcombe  made  his  formal  report  to  the  governor, 
in  which  occurred  the  following  sentence: 

That  it  is  (oot-and-niouth  disease  cannot  l)e  di)ul)ti(Ml  whtMi  the  symptoms  are  cou- 
sider«Ml ;  for  to  recai)itulat(»,  the  various  cases  sliow  vesicles  and  ulcers  of  the  mouth  ; 
A'esidesand  ulcersiii  thecleft  ofthe  hoof;  suppuration  and  sloughing  atthefoot ;  ulcers 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    UOMESTICATKD    ANIMALS  23 

of  the  rectuui ;  vesicles  aud  ulcers  of  the  udder;  diarrhea;  a  temperature  varyiug 
from  101  to  104.4  degrees  Fahr.,  and  the  most  remarkable  emaciation  even  in  cases 
where  the  appetite  is  good. 

TLe  excitement  now  became  so  great  that  by  your  direction  I  left 
Washington,  March  13,  to  investigate  the  nature  of  the  disease  and  to 
see  what  action,  if  any,  was  necessary  to  hold  it  in  check.  At  Chicago 
I  learned  of  what  was  supposed  to  be  a  similar  outbreak  at  EflQugham, 
111.,  and  was  requested  by  Dr.  Kauch,  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  and  by  others  largely  interested  in  the  cattle  industries  of  the 
State,  to  make  an  immediate  investigation.  The  condition  of  affairs  iu 
Kansas,  however,  was  so  urgent  that  I  concluded  to  press  on  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

I  reached  Topeka  March  15,  and  immediately  had  an  interview  with 
the  governor  and  \\  ith  the  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 
1  was  informed  by  both  that  the  malady  was  undoubtedly  foot-and- 
mouth  disease,  but  that  it  was  so  quarantined  that  there  was  little 
danger  of  its  immediate  extension  ;  and  at  the  request  of  the  governor 
I  proceeded  the  following  day  to  Pawnee  County,  to  iuvestigate  a  sup- 
posed outbreak  of  pleuropneumonia.  I  found  the  cattle  there  to  be  suf- 
fering from  chronic  indigestion,  the  result  of  feeding  too  exclusively  for 
a  long  time  on  dried  sorghum  with  a  probably  insufficient  water  supply. 

I  at  once  returned,  reaching  N^eosho  Falls  March  19,  and  after  a  care- 
ful investigation  was  able  to  telegraph  you  on  the2l8t  that  the  afltection 
was  not  foot-and-mouth  disease,  but  that  it  had  been  produced  by  local 
causes  and  that  there  was  no  danger  of  its  spreading. 

Returning  through  Topeka,  I  reported  my  conclusion  to  the  governor 
and  was  informed  that  experiments  would  be  made  with  susceptible  an- 
imals to  decide  the  nature  of  the  disease.  I  was  invited  to  assist  iu 
these  experiments,  and  at  first  decided  to  do  so,  but  1  soon  learned  that 
the  investigation  necessary  to  satisfy  Dr.  Holcombe,  who  had  just  been 
ai)i)ointed  State  veterinarian,  Avas  such  as  to  require  much  more  time 
than  1  could  give  to  it.  I  accordingly  visited  Kirksville,  Mo.,  by  your 
direction,  where  I  found  an  outbreak  of  the  same  disease  as  existed  at 
Neosho  Falls,  and  from  there  returned  to  Washington. 

In  Kansas  I  met  Professor  Stalker,  of  Iowa,  Professor  Faville,  of  Col- 
orado, Colonel  Groom,  of  Texas,  and  Dr.  Hopkins,  of  Wyoming,  who 
had  been  commissioned  by  their, respective  States  to  report  on  the  nat- 
ure of  the  disease  and  the  necessity  of  quarantining  all  cattle,  sheep, 
and  ])igs  from  Kansas.  1  was  also  requested  by  the  secretary  of  the 
Illinois  State  board  of  health  to  inform  him  if  there  was  any  necessity 
for  his  State  to  adopt  similar  measures.  Fortunately,  each  of  these 
States  received  a  report  that  foot-and-mouth  disease  did  not  exist  in 
Kansas,  and  what  threatened  to  be  an  almost  complete  suspension  of 
the  live-stock  business  of  the  West  was  averted.  There  is  no  doubt, 
however,  that  the  cattle  industry  suffered  a  considerable  loss  from  the 


24  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

excitement.     The  market  became  mistoad.y,  the  price  of  cattle  declined, 
and  buyers  became  exceedingly  cautions. 

Ai)ril  9  I  received  information  that  Dr.  McEachran,  principal  of  the 
Montreal  veterinary  school  aiul  live-stock  inspector  for  Canada,  had  vis- 
ited Neosho  Falls,  Kans.,  and  BflQiigham,  111.,  as  the  representative  of 
the  Canadian  Government,  and  positively  asserted  that  the  malady  at 
both  places  was  the  real  foot-and-mouth  disease  of  Europe.  April  10, 
a  telegram  from  the  State  agent  for  Kansas  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  conveyed  the  information,  that  the  State  vet- 
erinarian had  just  reprted  to  the  governor  that  six  healthy  cattle  co- 
habited with  the  sick  animals  had  all  contracted  the  disease,  and  that 
further  experiments  by  inoculation  would  at  once  be  made.  A  letter 
from  the  governor  of  the  same  date,  received  two  days  later,  contained 
similar  statements.  A  few  days  later  still  an  item  appeared  in  the  press 
dispatches  from  Washington,  stating  that  "a  private  dispatch  was  re- 
ceived here  to  day  from  the  governor  of  Kansas,  saying  that  cases  of 
sickness  among  cattle  which  had  been  most  carefully  examined  had 
turned  out  to  be  true  foot-and-mouth  disease.  He  was  afraid  that 
some  cases  had  got  in  the  herds.  There  was  an  attempt  made  at  first 
to  keep  the  matter  quiet,  but  the  information  was  deemed  such  as  should 
go  to  the  public." 

It  now  seemed  that  a  repetition  of  the  former  excitement  and  panic 
Was  about  to  occur,  and  by  your  direction  I  visited  Kansas  a  second  time 
with  instructions  to  make  such  experiments  as  might  be  necessary  to 
demonstrate  the  non-contagious  nature  of  the  disease  beyond  question. 
I  reached  Emi)oria  April  20,  and  was  there  met  by  a  telegram  from  Ne- 
osho Falls  asking  me  to  join  the  State  veterinarian  and  Professor  Law 
at  the  governor's  office  on  the  morning  of  the  22d.  Not  intending  to 
turn  backward  until  the  difference  of  opinion  was  conclusively  settled, 
I  telegraphed  in  reply  requesting  these  gentlemen  to  meet  me  at  Em- 
poria on  their  way  to  Topeka.  This  they  did  on  March  21,  and  I  had  a 
conference  with  them,  at  which  the  State  veterinarian  admitted  that  all 
attempts  to  convey  the  distase  by  inoculation  upon  cattle,  rabbits,  and 
sheep  had  failed  ;  that  the  second  experimental  lot  of  cattle  which 
had  cohabited  with  the  first  lot  when  they  were  supposed  to  be  suffer- 
ing with  foot-and-mouth  disease  had  not  been  in  the  least  affected ; 
that  the  foot  symptoms  of  the  first  lot  had  only  been  noticed  with  two 
animals,  were  very  slight  and  of  exceedingly  short  duration  ;  and  that, 
finally,  whatever  the  disease  might  be,  it  was  not  the  continental  foot- 
and-mouth  disease. 

After  receiving  this  infurmation  I  returned  to  Topeka,  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  livestock  commission  in  the  governor's  office,  when  the 
State  verterinarian  rei)orted  that  the  malady  at  Neosho  Falls  was  not 
the  foot-and-mouth  disease,  and  the  governor  sent  out  a  (lisiiatch  to 
the  same  effect. 

On  my  way  to  Washington  I  visited  the  herds  in  the  vicinity  of  Effing- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  25 

ham.  111.,  examined  the  cattle  and  the  food  and  assnred  myself  that  the 
disease  there  was  identical  with  that  in  Kansas  and  Missouri,  and  that 
it  was  in  every  case  traceable  to  the  ergot  which  existed  in  great  abund- 
ance in  the  hay. 

SITUATION    OF    THE    AFFECTED    HERDS    AND    BRIEF   HISTORY    OF    THE 

DISEASE. 

The  cattle  disease  in  Kansas  which  recently  attracted  so  much  atten- 
tion from  its  supposed  identity  with  the  contagious  foot-and-mouth  dis- 
ease of  Europe,  was  first  noticed  in  the  herd  of  Daniel  Keith  about  the 
23d  or  24th  of  December,  1883.  Mr,  Keith's  farm  is  located  4  miles 
northwest  of  Neosho  Falls.  The  first  to  sicken  were  some  yearlings, 
which  were  noticed  in  the  morning  standing  "  humped  up,"  with  droop- 
ing heads  and  jerking  the  hind  feet  in  a  peculiar  manner.  These  would 
walk  but  little  and  would  soon  lie  down.  Within  two  or  three  days 
they  were  inclined  to  lie  continually.  The  feet  were  examined  and  found 
free  from  mud ;  the  interdigilal  space  was  described  as  red,  swollen, 
and  sensitive,  the  toes  spread  apart.  The  feet  began  to  swell  at  the 
coronet,  or  as  high  as  the  fetlock;  a  line  of  separation  was  established, 
and  pus  appeared  within  two  or  three  days  from  the  first  symptoms. 
The  mouths  were  not  examined,  but  the  animals  were  supposed  to  be 
eating  all  right. 

On  or  about  December  10,  Mr.  Keith  had  purchased  63  head  of  year- 
lings of  Mr.  Davis,  all  of  which  had  been  gathered  within  a  radius  of  10 
miles.  Two  cows  and  6  yearlings  were  bought  of  Alexander  Linn,  1 
niile  down  the  river  from  Neosho  F'alls.  This  lot  of  yearlings  were  said 
to  have  sickened  within  a  few  days  after  their  arrival  on  the  Keith  farm ; 
it  is  believed  that  some  were  sick  within  three  days  and  that  all  were 
suffering  within  a  week,  and  during  this  time  they  had  been  fed  on 
shelled  corn  and  mowed  oats.  There  appears  to  be  some  doubt  as  to 
how  severely  they  were  affected,  whether  they  were  all  attacked  on  the 
same  day,  and  the  exact  number  of  days  they  were  on  the  farm  before 
showing  any  symptoms.  While  it  was  asserted  that  they  ate  no  hay  it 
was  admitted  that  there  was  probably  some  hay  in  the  racks.  Eight 
other  animals  were  purcliased  about  the  same  time  of  neighbors  living 
within  2  or  3  miles. 

By  January  1  he  had  between  20  and  30  head  sick,  a  number  of 
new  cases  being  observed  each  day.  JNIarch  0  Dr.  Trumbower  tbuii<l  a 
red  yeailing  steer  with  a  very  hot  mouth,  mucus  membranes  much 
reddened,  a  vesicle  the  size  of  a  dime  on  the  soft  pahite,  and  two  smaller 
ones  on  the  tongue.  There  was  also  a  small  ulcer  on  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  rectum  ;  the  temperature  was  104.4°  F. ;  the  animal  was 
lying  down,  and  when  for(;ed  to  rise  it  moved  very  stifHy,  but  there  was 
no  swelling  of  the  feet.  The  following  day  the  vesicles  were  found 
ruptured,  in  their  place  was  a  deep,  red  cavity  which  bled  when  touched. 
Temperature  still  104.4o.     March  20  this  animal  appeared  well. 


26  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

The  cattle  on  this  farm  were  divided  into  two  lots,  which  were  in  ad- 
joining inclosnres,  and  were  separated  only  by  rail  fences.  The  second 
lot  contained  40  two-year-old  steers,  purchased  about  November  1,  and 
was  free  from  disease  until  February  28,  though  some  of  these  had 
broken  through  the  fence  at  times  and  mingled  with  the  diseased  part 
of  the  herd.  March  10  about  10  or  12  animals  in  the  second  lot  were 
sick.  Three  days  later  Dr.  Trumbower  found  2  that  would  lose  all  four 
feet.  At  this  time  there  were  118  head  of  cattle  on  the  farm,  of  which 
74  were  more  or  less  affected.  Nine  animals  had  one  foot  off,  4  had  two 
feet  oft',  1  four-j'ear-old  cow  lost  both  hind  feet  and  a  toe  from  one  fore 
foot,  3  others  were  affected  in  but  one  foot,  6  in  two  feet,  and  1  in  three 
feet.  In  nearly  all  that  showed  lameness  there  were  more  or  less  mouth 
symptoms. 

Across  the  road,  and  nearly  opposite  to  Mr.  Keith,  lives  Edward  Hind- 
man.  It  was  here  that  the  cattle  belonging  to  A.  C.  Goodrich  were  lo- 
cated. The  10th  of  March  this  herd  numbered  96  head.  The  first 
animal  affected  was  a  milch  cow,  noticed  to  be  lame  January  10.  No 
other  cases  occurred  until  February  14  or  15,  when  one  v^as  seen  to  be 
lame  in  the  morning  after  a  heavy  ice  storm.  The  following  morning 
16  were  lame.  After  that  he  disco  veered  new  cases  almost  daily,  aud  on 
March  14,  when  they  were  separated  from  the  well  ones,  65  head  were 
affected.  March  19  the  most  sev^ere  cases  were  as  follows  :  18  animals 
had  lost  both  hind  feet,  5  had  lost  one  hind  foot,  1  had  lost  both  hind 
feet  aud  one  fore  foot,  and  1  had  lost  all  of  its  feet.  Seven  of  the  others 
were  lame  in  the  hind  feet,  and  the  remainder  of  the  65  head  affected 
were  more  or  less  lame. 

In  each  of  the  above-mentioned  herds  the  sick  animals  at  the  time  of 
my  visits,  March  19  and  22,  had  small  erosions  of  the  mucous  membrane 
of  the  mouth,  and  2  or  3  had  hard  yellowish  crusts  in  the  same  situa 
tion  an  inch  or  more  in  extent.  In  no  case  were  these  sufficient  to  in- 
terfere with  mastication.  This  lesion  was  more  noticeable  in  the  old 
chronic  cases  than  in  the  recent  ones. 

The  third  herd  which  contained  diseased  animals  was  located  about 
2^  miles  from  those  already  mentioned.  It  belonged  to  J.  W.  Beard. 
This  herd  containt^d  70  head  of  animals,  and  3  cows  and  2  steers  are 
all  that  have  been  affected.  All  had  been  running  together  until  the 
disease  was  noticed,  when  the  sick  were  separated  from  the  well  The 
first  syini>toms  were  observed  on  the  17th  of  February,  when  a  cow  was 
seen  to  he  lame.  The  second  one  to  go  lame  was  a  cow  bought  of  Mr. 
Keith  and  brought  to  the  farm  February  18 — she  became  lame  about 
the  22d  or  29th,  accounts  diftering  between  these  dates.  The  third  one, 
a  steer,  became  affected  March  1.  The  fourth  was  a  cow  observed  to 
be  sick  March  1  or  2.  It  is  reported  that  she  slavered  very  profusely.  Mr. 
Beard  states  that  he  examined  her  mouth  and  found  it  very  red  and  the 
tongue  covered  with  little  })imples.  At  ten  o'clock  next  morning  she 
died.     This  animal  had  not  been  lame.     The  fifth  one  was  taken  about 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    'DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  27 

the  same  time.  It  was  lame  in  one  foot,  became  better,  was  affected  iu 
a  second  foot,  and  was  entirely  recovered  trom  lameness  by  March  11. 
At  this  time  Dr.  Trnmbower  found  several  small  sores  and  discolored 
spots  in  the  mouth,  and  the  temperature  was  102.5  degrees,  or  very 
nearly  the  average  of  cattle  in  health.  The  highest  temperature  found 
by  Dr.  Trnmbower  was  that  of  the  cow  purchased  of  Mr.  Keith,  which 
reached  102.8  degrees — a  point  too  low  to  indicate  fever  with  any  cer- 
tainty. 

The  fourth  and  only  remaining  herd  in  the  neighborhood  of  Neosho 
Falls  was  that  of  Christian  Pribberuow,  whose  farm  is  located  on  Owl 
Creek,  30  miles  southeast  of  the  town.  There  were  on  tiiis  farm  183 
head  of  cattle,  and  but  16  have  shown  any  signs  of  the  disease.  This 
herd  was  made  up  as  follows :  54  j'earlings,  24  two  year-old  steers,  13 
two  year-old  heifers  with  calf,  15  three-year-old  steers,  and  77  cows  and 
heifers.  The  yearlings  had  been  put  in  a  separate  pen  and  fed  on  oats 
and  corn-fodder — none  of  these  were  affected.  Three  api)arently  well 
animals  were  lassoed  and  examined  ;  their  mouths  contained  small 
erosions  and  discolorations  of  the  mucous  membranes.  The  tempera- 
ture of  one,  thought  to  be  slightly  lame,  was  101  degrees;  that  of  another, 
apparently  in  perfect  health,  was  103  degrees.  Six  of  the  affected  ones 
have  either  lost  their  feet  or  have  them  in  such  condition  that  they  will 
surely  separate  from  the  legs,  and  2  others  have  lost  digital  bones. 
None  of  these  animals  have  shown  salivation  or  loss  of  appetite;  but 
the  mouths  contained  erosions  and  discolorations  similar  to  those  seen 
in  other  herds. 

At  Hall's  Summit,  a  distance  of  20  or  25  miles  north  from  Neosho 
Falls,  George  K.  Smith  owned  2  cows.  About  February  1  one  became 
lame;  there  was  noticeable  slavering  and  loss  of  appetite  for  several 
days.  This  cow  calved  February  2 ),  and  Dr.  Trnmbower  saw  her  March 
17,  when  the  calf  appeared  well  but  small.  The  cow  was  reduced  to  a 
skeleton.  Her  right  hind  leg  had  broken  off  half  way  between  the  fet- 
lock and  hock  joints,  carrying  with  it  the  lower  half  of  the  metatarsal 
bone.  The  left  hind  leg  was  separating  at  about  the  same  point.  One 
toe  of  the  left  fore  foot  was  coming  off  at  the  first  joint. 

Near  Hartford,  some  20  miles  northwest  of  Neosho  Falls  and  15  miles 
west  of  HalTs  Summit,  was  the  farm  of  Mr.  O'Toole,  where  aiu)ther  out- 
break of  disease  occurred,  showing  precisely  the  same  symptoms.  The 
animals  at  this  place  were  reported  to  have  been  killed  before  my  visit, 
and  consequently  1  did  not  see  the  herd.  Dr.  Wilhite,  as  I  was  in- 
formed, thought  the  first  cases  appeared  about  January  U).  The  tirst 
animals  attacked  were  yearlings.  Soon  after  all  the  calves  becanu^,  af- 
fected in  the  same  way.  Then  the  large  steers  in  the  feedijig  pen  were 
attacked. 

About  the  middle  of  March  the  governor  of  Kansas  sent  a  veteri- 
narian to  investigate  a  disease  which  was  reported  to  exist  in  Osborne 
Conntv.     Accordinu'  to  verbal  information  which    I  received  from  the 


28  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

State  officers  while  at  Topeka,  this  disease  was  substantially  the  same 
as  that  which  existed  at  Neosho  Falls.  The  distance  between  these  two 
points  must  be  at  least  175  miles  in  a  direct  line. 

After  investigating-  the  disease  in  the  neighborhood  of  Neosho  Falls, 
1  proceeded  as  directed  to  Kirksville,  Adair  County,  Missouri,  to  visit 
herds  at  that  pla(;e  rei)orted  to  be  affected  with  foot-and-mouth  disease. 
On  March  27  1  was  at  the  farm  of  William  Bragg,  who  lived  5  miles 
south  of  Kirksville.  The  disease  in  this  section  was  first  noticed  here, 
but  later  (3  other  herds,  within  a  radius  of  4  miles,  have  had  affected 
animals.  The  only  new  animal  introduced  on  the  Bragg  farm  was  a 
steer  bought-  in  the  neighborhood  about  December  20.  This  was  one 
of  the  first  to  sicken,  but  there  was  no  disease  on  the  farm  from  which 
it  came.  A  cow  that  had  been  purchased  a  month  earlier  sickened 
about  the  same  time.  This  was  in  the  latter  part  of  January.  The 
weather  had  been  extremely  cold  early  in  January,  and  reached  10°  or 
12°  below  zero  at  other  times  during  the  month. 

At  the  time  of  my  first  visit  there  were  4  animals  lying  in  the  stable. 
One  cow  had  lost  a  hind  leg  from  about  half  way  between  the  hock  and 
fetlock  joints;  the  bones  had  separated  at  the  latter  joint  and  the  meta- 
tarsal bone  protruded  half  its  length  beyond  the  flesh.  The  other  hind 
leg  was  dividing  at  the  fetlock  joint.  Six  inches  at  the  end  of  the  tail 
was  gangrenous,  and  was  being  separated  from  the  remainder  of  the 
organ.  There  were  a  number  of  abrasions  and  small  discolored  spots  in 
the  mouth.  A  second  cow  had  a  healthy  mouth;  both  hind  feet  were 
lost  at  the  coronet,  and  the  tip  of  the  tail  was  gangrenous.  A  steer, 
probably  two  years  old,  had  lost  both  hind  feet  at  the  fetlock,  about  an 
inch  of  the  tail  was  lifeless,  and  the  mouth  contained  a  number  of  sores 
and  discolorations.  A  second  steer  was  in  almost  precisely  the  same 
condition.  A  third  steer  was  walking  around  the  yard,  very  lame,  and 
had  a  large  slough  of  the  tissues  on  the  ijosterior  surface  of  the  fetlock 
joint.  A  fourth  steer  in  the  pasture  had  both  limbs  as  high  as  and  in- 
cluding the  fetlock  joint  stiff  and  cold.  Still  another  aninml  was  lame 
in  the  hind  limb.  Seven  herds  within  a  radius  of  4  miles  had  suffered. 
Six  abortions  were  reported. 

April  24  and  25  I  visited  a  number  of  the  diseased  herds  in  Effingham 
and  adjoining  counties  in  Illinois.  The  farm  of  Lemuel  Faunce  is  situ- 
ated 10  mUes  northeast  of  Effingham  and  one  and  one-half  miles  Irom 
Montrose.  The  first  cases  api)eared  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  and 
began  with  diarrhea  and  other  signs  of  digestive  disturbance.  There 
were  21  head  of  cattle  on  the  farm  and  no  new  ones  had  been  purchased 
at  the  time  of  or  immediately  preceding  the  outbreak.  Two  cows,  each 
of  which  li^d  both  liiud  legs  affintted,  had  been  killed  before  my  visit; 
1  steer  has  a  hind  limb  off  at  the  fetlock;  another  has  a  clear  line  of 
demarcation  formed  at  the  fetlock,  the  i)art  below  being  gangrenous;  a 
bull  has  lost  both  toes  from  one  foot  and  one  toe  from  the  other;  2  other 
animals  were  very  stiff.     One  steer  had  two  at^.acks  and  another  had 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  29 

three  attacks  of  lameness,  and  the  hitter  entirely  recovered.  The  ani- 
mal that  was  first  to  suffer  still  had  sores,  i.  e.,  erosions  of  the  mucous 
membrane  on  the  upper  lip  and  gums  exactly  like  those  which  I  saw 
when  examining  the  affected  cattle  at  Neosho  Falls  and  at  Kirksville, 
though  four  months  had  elapsed  since  the  appearance  of  the  disease. 
Some  of  the  sick  ones  had  slavered  and  smacked  the  lips,  showing  that 
the  mouth  was  quite  severely  affected. 

The  horses  on  this  farm  had  also  been  troubled  with  an  eruption  in 
the  mouths  which  had  caused  salivation  and  loud  smacking  of  the 
tongue  and  lips.  These  were  now  entirely  recovered,  though  slight 
evidences  of  the  sores  on  the  lips  were  still  visible.  The  horses  were 
seen  to  have  lost  appetite  in  January  or  early  in  February.  The  last 
of  February  sores  were  observed  in  the  mouths,  and  it  was  six  weeks 
before  these  healed.  Only  one  hog  was  kept,  though  many  of  the 
neighbors'  hogs  had  been  continually  running  around  the  pastures. 
None  of  these  had  been  affected. 

Three  miles  north  and  1  mile  west  of  Mr.  Faunce's  farm,  Mr.  Dubroc 
had  yearlings  in  a  high,  dry  lot,  in  which  was  an  out-house  for  shelter, 
parly  filled  with  hay.  All  of  these  we're  affected  and  all  recovered. 
There  were  here  160  head  of  cattle,  only  8  or  10  of  which,  all  told,  were 
lame.  Ten  or  12  goats  were  running  with  the  cattle,  but  remained  well ; 
the  two  places  mentioned  above  were  so  situated  on  different  roads  that 
there  was  little  if  any  passing  from  one  to  the  other,  and  the  outbreaks 
were  therefore  indejiendent  of  each  other. 

Other  cases  of  the  disease  occurred  on  the  farm  of  Mr,  John  Mason, 
who  lives  near  Wheeler  in  Jasper  County.  This  gentleman  owned  120 
head  of  cattle,  of  which  17  had  been  affected.  Six  animals  were  so  bad 
that  they  had  been  killed;  2  others  remained,  one  of  which  had  lost  a 
foot,  and  the  second  one  would  lose  both  of  the  jiosterior  feet  at  or 
above  the  fetlock;  a  part  of  the  tail  of  this  one  was  also  gangrenous. 
Nine  others  had  been  more  or  less  lame  but  had  lost  no  limbs.  On  this 
farm  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  cattle  were  25  horses  and  mules,  100 
hogs  and  40  shee]),  all  of  which  had  been  free  from  disease. 

In  the  town  of  Wheeler,  a  single  family  cow  was  found  with  the  lower 
parts  of  the  posterior  limbs  separating  as  a  result  of  dry  gangrene. 
This  seemed  to  be  the  only  sick  animal  in  the  town. 

Mr.  Keating,  who  lives  G  or  8  miles  from  Effingliam,  had  also  suffered 
from  the  same  disease.  His  herd  consisted  of  4.5  young  cattle  and  0 
cows.  None  of  the  cows  were  affected,  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  here 
that  they  had  been  fed  upon  hay  harvested  in  1882.  The  young  cattle 
were  fed  ui)on  the  crop  of  1883,  and  of  these  8,  which  were  in  a  very  bad 
condition  from  the  loss  of  their  limbs,  had  been  killed  ;  two  others  were 
still  alive  with  the  feet  off'  at  the  fetlock.  About  half  of  the  45  young 
cattle  were  more  or  less  affected.  There  were  60  sheep  and  a  number 
of  hogs  on  this  farm,  none  of  which  had  shown  any  signs  of  disease. 
The  cattle  here  were  atticked  about  the  8th  of  Januarv. 


30  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

These  farms  are  nieutionecl  as  examples  of  what  had  occurred  at  sev- 
enteen or  ei^liteen  different  places  that  I  learned  of  within  a  radius  of 
15  miles  from  Eftingham.  As  a  matter  of  great  interest  connected  with 
this  subject,  I  was  informed  by  a  number  of  people  that  there  had  been 
a  greater  number  of  al)ortions  among  mares,  and  more  cases  of  difficult 
parturition  during  the  past  winter  and  spring  than  was  ever  known 
before. 

Other  herds  were  reported  on  good  authority  to  be  affected  in  the 
same  manner  at  different  points  in  Missouri,  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  Col- 
orado. 

CLASS,  CONDITION,  SURROUNDINGS,  AND    CARE    OF    THE   ANIMALS. 

All  the  diseased  animals  on  the  farms  visited  by  me  were  stock  cattle 
in  medium  to  thin  condition.  Those  worst  affected,  in  which  one  or 
more  limbs  were  separating  as  a  consequence  of  dry  gangrene,  had 
evidently  lost  much  flesh  during  the  progress  of  the  disease.  There 
were  no  fat  cattle  on  any  of  these  farms.  At  Mr.  O'Toole's  it  was  said 
by  those  who  visited  the  place  the  fattening  cattle  were  attacked  as  well 
as  the  stock  cattle  and  calves. 

On  most  of  the  farms  there  were  cattle  of  all  ages — calves,  yearlings, 
two-year-olds,  three-year  olds,  and  cows.  The  calves  and  yearlings 
seemed  to  escape  in  a  greater  degree  than  the  older  cattle.  In  the 
Goodrich  herd  were  20  calves  which  occupied  a  lot  through  which  the 
other  animals  were  frequently  driven  to  water  and  into  which  some  of 
the  lame  ones  were  jdaced.  This  lot  was  separated  by  an  open  fence 
from  that  in  which  were  kept  the  worst  diseased  animals  of  the  herd, 
and  yet  not  one  of  the  calves  suffered  in  the  least.  At  Pribbernow's 
were  54  yearlings  running  with  the  other  cattle,  and  from  which  the 
worst  affected  ones  were  only  separated  by  a  rail  fence,  and  all  of  these 
escaped.  At  Keith's  were  2  young  calves  sucking  diseased  mothers, 
but  themselves  in  good  health.  Here  also  were  hogs  and  a  litter  of 
young  i)igs  running  in  the  same  lot  with  the  sick  cattle,  but  tree  from 
any  signs  of  disease.  At  Kirksville  sheep  had  been  running  with  the 
cattle  and  were  also  healthy.  In  Illinois,  sheep,  swine,  and  goats 
mingled  with  the  affected  herds  with  perfect  safety. 

The  winter  has  undoubtedly  been  a  severe  one  upon  the  stock  of  the 
Western  States,  and  the  cattle  were  consequently  somewhat  below  the 
average  ccmdition  at  this  season  of  the  year.  The  appearance  of  the 
disease  cannot  be  explained  by  this  fact,  however,  since  thousands  of 
healthy  herds  were  in  worse  condition  than  those  on  the  farms  in  ques- 
tion. Some  of  these  herds,  and  noticeably  that  of  Goodrich,  were  in 
much  better  than  average  condition;  they  had  evidently  been  well  fed 
and  cared  for. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  surroundings  of  the  affected  animals  which 
would  explain  the  development  of  the  disease.  The  feeding  lots  in 
most  cases  were  unusually  dry  and  the  disease  had  appeared  at  a  time 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  31 

when  all  mud  was  frozen  solid.  The  soil  did  not  continin  enough  alkali, 
even  at  Neosho  Falls,  to  make  it  at  all  probable  that  this  could  have 
been  the  exciting  cause  of  the  disease.  As  is  usual  in  the  management 
of  cattle  at  the  West,  the  herds  were  without  shelter.  At  Keith's  the 
cattle  lots  were  in  a  ravine  protected  by  timber;  on  some  of  the  farms 
there  was  little  protection  of  any  kind.  Such  a  condition,  however,  is 
so  common  that  it  could  not  be  regarded  as  having  much  influence  in 
the  production  of  this  trouble.  All  of  the  affected  herds  seem  to  have 
received  ordinarily  good  care.  Keith  had  fed  some  of  his  cattle  shelled 
corn  and  mowed  oats  in  addition  to  hay.  Pribbernow  had  fed  his  year- 
lings on  millet,  oats,  and  corn- fodder,  and  consequently  they  had  eaten 
less  hay.  Beard  had  fed  shocked  corn.  In  Illinois,  Keating  had  fed 
liberally  on  corn.  On  most  of  the  farms  the  water  was  very  good,  but 
probably  deficient  during  the  cold  weather.  Keith  had  pumped  water 
from  his  well;  Goodrich's  cattle  drank  from  a  pond  ;  Beard's  from  the 
river,  and  Pribbernow's  from  a  creek.  It  was  necessary  to  cut  holes 
through  the  ice  and  these  would  soon  freeze  over;  consequently,  it  may 
be  admitted  that  in  most  cases  there  might  have  been  a  deficiency  of 
water. 

When  the  animals  first  became  lame  it  was  supposed  that  mud  had 
collected  between  the  toes,  and.  becoming  hard,  was  producing  irrita- 
tion. The  animals  were  caught  and  their  feet  cleaned,  but  this  had  no 
effect  on  the  development  of  the  disease.  It  is  evident  that  the  atii- 
mals  w^ere  cared  for  as  well  as  is  ordinarily  the  case  in  this  section  of 
the  country,  and  tliat  the  slight  deficiency  of  water  and  the  exposure 
to  cold  were  accessory  rather  than  the  exciting  cause  of  the  disease. 

SYMPTOMS    AND    CHARACTERS    OF    THE    DISEASE. 

The  first  symptoms  of  disease  in  the  Illinois  epizootic  were  diarrhea, 
lameness,  stiffness  of  the  lower  joints  of  the  aifected  limb,  and  coldness 
and  insensibility  of  the  same  parts.  In  Kansas  this  derangement  of 
the  digestive  a])paratus  was  not  noticed.  At  all  the  places  visited,  how- 
ever, the  lesions  of  the  feet  were  of  a  common  character  and  were  i)ro- 
duced  by  a  common  jirocess.  In  the  more  severe  cases  a  constricted 
band  formed  around  the  limb  at  the  point  separating  the  gangrenous 
from  the  living  flesh.  So  marked  was  this  constriction  that  some  of  the 
owners  looked  upon  it  as  the  initial  lesion  of  the  tlisease  and  cut  across 
it  with  a  knife  in  the  hopes  of  re  estal>lishing  the  circulation.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  this  hope  was  delusive,  since  the  i)art  below  the 
constriction  was  entirely  lifeless  before  this  was  fornu'd.  The  constric- 
tion was  the  first  step  in  the  eftbrt  of  nature  to  rid  the  body  of  i>arts 
that  were  of  no  further  use  to  it. 

The  next  step  in  the  process  of  separation  was  a  crack  in  the  skin  at 
the  upper  edge  of  the  band  of  constriction,  which  gradually  extended 
toward  the  center  of  the  bmb,  the  softer  parts  dividing  first  and  the 
tendons  and   ligaments  resisting  much  longer.     Generally  this  separa- 


32  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DJMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

tiou  was  ill  the  vicinity  of  a  Joint,  and  in  this  case,  as  the  lower  mem- 
bers of  the  limb  were  lost  a  comparatively  even  surface  was  left  which 
healed  readily.  Some  animals  lost  only  a  toe,  the  dividing  line  passing 
through  the  joint  between  the  os  pedis  and  oscoronce  ;  others  lost  both 
the  OS  pedis  and  os  eororice  ;  still  others  lost  the  three  lower  bones,  and 
the  line  of  se])aration  passed  through  the  fetlock  joint,  while  in  the 
most  severe  cases  the  line  of  constriction  formed  at  the  upper  third  of 
the  metatarsal  bone  and  the  fleshy  parts  sloughed  oif,  leaving  the  un- 
covered bone  protruding  for  more  than  half  its  length.  Plates  Y  and 
VI  are  drawings  made  from  limbs  which  I  secured  in  Kansas. 

It  was  reported  by  some  of  the  veterinarians  that  small  vesicles  were 
formed  in  the  interdigital  space  and  about  the  coronet,  and  this  was 
doubtless  true,  as  such  vesicles  are  not  uncommon  in  gangrene ;  but 
their  appearance  was  far  from  being  the  rule,  as  I  did  not  succeed  in 
finding  a  single  one  in  all  the  animals  that  I  examined.  In  nearly  all 
of  the  cases,  whether  the  foot  was  affected  with  dry  gangrene  or  whether 
there  had  been  simply  lameness  without  death  of  the  part,  the  skin  of 
the  interdigital  space  and  about  the  coronet  was  perfectly  preserved- 
There  was  loss  of  neither  epidermis  nor  hair,  as  there  certainly  would 
have  been  had  the  disease  commenced  by  a  superficial  inflammation  in 
this  region  and  extended  to  deeper  parts  of  the  foot  or  to  higher  parts 
of  the  limb.  Indeed  there  were  no  abscesses,  no  burrowing  of  pus,  no 
ulceration  about  the  feet,  which  could  lead  one  for  a  moment  to  sup- 
pose that  the  cause  of  the  disease  had  commenced  its  action  externally 
and  extended  gradually  to  the  interior  of  the  limb.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  fact  that  the  skin  was  intact  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  that  the 
part  was  cold  and  insensible  almost  from  the  first,  and  that  the  line  of 
separation  passed  entirely  through  the  limb,  removing  one  or  more 
phalanges  as  completely  as  it  could  have  been  done  with  a  knife,  was 
sufficient  evidence  that  the  disease  had  an  internal  origin. 

The  gangrene  was  not  confined  to  the  feet,  however,  for  in  Kansas, 
Missouri,  and  Illinois  there  were  individual  animals  which  were  losing 
from  2  to  6  inches  of  the  lower  part  of  the  tail  by  exactly  the  same 
process.  The  portion  below  the  dividing  line  was  very  dry  and  hard, 
while  the  line  itself  was  sharply  defined,  as  though  it  had  been  a  knife- 
cut.  With  the  greater  part  of  the  animals  afl'ected  in  the  feet  a  careful 
examination  of  the  end  of  the  tail  revealed  a  slough  of  greater  or  less 
extent;  sometimes  it  was  simply  the  skin  at  the  tip  that  was  affected, 
but  oftener  one-half  inch,  1  inch  or  2  inches  would  be  found  discolored, 
lifeless,  and  dry.  In  a  very  few  cases  a  part  of  the  ear  was  found  in 
the  same  condition. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  enzootic,  because  it  had 
not  been  heretofore  described,  was  the  implication  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  mouth.  With  some  animals  this  was  limited  to  a  more  or 
less  diffuse  red  discoloration,  without  loss  of  substance.  More  fre- 
quently there  were  circumscribed  dark  red  spots  or  patches,  from  a 


Plate  V. 


Marx  from  Nature 


A.Hotmt  Ca.tiTtiscair^^'::.  daltimore. 


ERGOTISM   f  KANSAS  ) 


Plate   MI. 


Marx  from  Nature 


A  Kosnl  Co.liThQCAiii^tic   Bdltin 


ERGOTISM   (  KANSAS) 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  33 

fourtU  of  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter.  Very  often  there  was  loss  of 
substance — erosions  from  a  third  to  a  half  inch  iu  diameter.  Some  of 
the  veterinarians  reported  that  they  had  discovered  blisters  iu  the 
mouths,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  these  erosions  in  their  first  stages 
were  more  or  less  vesicuhirin  character,  butl  was  not  fortunate  enough 
to  see  them  in  this  stage  at  auy  of  the  places  visited.  In  some  animals 
the  part  of  the  membrane  that  was  being  lost  was  still  attached  by 
shreds,  in  others  it  was  entirely  removed,  but  iu  no  case  did  I  see  any- 
thing of  the  nature  of  a  vesicle.  None  of  the  erosions  jireseuted  the 
appearance  of  ulcers,  or  showed  any  considerable  inflammation.  They 
■were  dark  colored,  the  borders  were  not  elevated,  and  the  surrounding 
blood-vessels  were  neither  prominent  nor  injected.  It  appeared  to  be 
only  the  superficial  layer  of  the  membrane  that  was  interested. 

In  a  very  few  animals  a  lesion  of  a  different  character  was  observed 
in  the  month.  In  these  cases  an  irregular  patch  of  mucous  membrane 
from  1  to  2  inches  iu  diameter  was  elevated,  corrugated  upon  its  surface, 
hard,  iuseusible,  and  of  alight  color,  tinged  with  pink  and  yellow.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  circumscribed  gangrene  of  the  nuicous  membrane,  the 
dead  parts  being  partially  decolorized  by  soaking  in  the  fluids  of  the 
mouth. 

There  was  also  an  evident  irritation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
posterior  parts  of  the  alimentary  canal  and  organs  of  geueration. 
That  covering  the  rectum  and  vagina  was  generally  red,  covered  with 
mucus,  and  ])resented  spots  denuded  of  the  epithelium.  In  Missouri 
«ix  cases  of  abortion  iu  cows  were  reported,  and  in  Illinois  there  were 
many  cases  of  abortion  and  difficult  parturition  with  mares. 

The  constitutional  symptoms  were  not  very  marked.  The  temperature 
of  the  animals  which  I  examined  was  about  normal,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  from  which  one  or  more  limbs  were  sloughing  and  with  which 
there  was  suspicion  of  septic  poisoning.  Drs.  Holcombe  and  Trnm- 
bower  observed  high  temi)eratures  (104  to  104.8  degrees)  iu  some  cases 
in  the  early  stages  of  the  aft'ection. 

In  those  animals  which  recovered  after  showing  lameness  there  was 
no  loss  of  substance  or  inflammation  of  the  skin  as  would  have  resulted 
from  freezing  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  cause  lameness.  In  these  animals 
the  lameness  and  stiffness  of  the  lower  joints  were  the  only  symptoms 
of  the  disease  in  the  feet,  though  the  same  animals  frequently  showed 
erosions  in  the  mouths. 

EVIDENCE  POINTINCr  TO  ERGOT  AS  THE  CAUSE. 

In  each  of  the  herds  which  I  visited,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Beard's,  there  were  fyi)ical  cases  of  dry  gangrene  of  the  extremities, 
•with  an  evident  i)reference  for  the  posterior  limbs.  In  the  most  severe 
■cases  there  was  complete  death  of  the  leg  as  high  as  the  middle  por- 
tion of  the  metatarsal  bone.  This  dead  part  was  sharply  defined, 
first  by  a  constriction  ami  later  by  a  cra(;k  from  the  living  flesh  above. 
5751  D  A 3 


34  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

It  was  not  a  death  of  the  superficial  structures  alone,  but  the  skiu^ 
teudous,  and  bone  were  all  involved,  aud  every  part  of  the  leg  be- 
low the  line  of  separation  just  referred  to  was  completely  lifeless.  A 
study  of  these  legs  showed  very  clearly  that  the  disease  had  not  begun 
at  the  hoof  or  in  the  iuterdigital  space  and  progressed  upward,  for  these 
parts  had  not  been  changed  by  disease  of  any  kind  [)revious  to  the  death 
of  the  whole  affected  part,  which  had  evidentlj^  occurred  very  suddenly. 
To  iny  mind  this  condition  made  it  very  plain  that  the  trouble  was  not 
the  result  of  any  disease  which  had  begun  in  the  interdigital  space,  or 
in  the  skin  around  the  coronet.  There  could  be  no  mistaking  the  fact 
that  the  worst  affected  animals  presented  tyjncal  cases  of  dry  gangrene^ 
and  the  problem  to  be  solved  was  to  determine  which  of  the  conditions 
that  these  animals  were  subjected  to  would  satisfactorily  account  for  the 
enzootic.  When  we  turn  to  veterinary  literature  for  information  in  re- 
gard to  the  accepted  causes  of  dry  gangrene,  we  learn  that  there  are 
verj'  few  agencies  which  are  liable  to  affect  a  number  of  animals  at  a 
time  and  are  capable  of  producing  this  effect.  Compression,  burning^ 
caustics,  plugging  of  blood-vessels,  and  ergot  about  completes  the  list 
of  those  that  would  be  at  all  likely  to  produce  dry  gangrene  in  young 
animals,  and  of  tiiese  the  last  is  the  only  one  that  could  have  possibly 
been  instrumental  in  develo])ing  the  outbreaks  in  the  West. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  disease  led  me  to  examine  the  feed  to  learn  if 
any  nnusual  quantity  of  ergot  could  be  found.  The  result  of  this  ex- 
amination was  to  show  that  at  every  one  of  the  farms  where  the  dis- 
eased cattle  were  located,  hay  had  been  fed  which  contained  one  or 
more  grasses  ergotized  to  an  extreme  degree.  At  Keith's,  Beard's,  and 
Pribbernow's,  in  Kansas,  there  was  a  large  proportion  of  wild  rye  {Eli/- 
miis  virglnicuH^  variety  suhmutieus)  which  contained  an  extraordinary 
quantity  of  ergot.  In  many  heads  half  the  grains  and  in  other  heads 
every  grain  had  been  replaced  by  the  fungus.  Careful  weighings  of 
heads  brought  to  Washington,  and  from  which  some  of  the  ergot  had 
been  lost  in  transit,  gave  in  one  case  12  per  cent.,  and  in  another 
case  10  per  cent.,  as  the  proportion  of  ergot.  Now,  if  the  head  repre- 
sented one-half  the  weight  of  the  entire  plant,  from  5  to  6  i)er  cent,  of 
the  weight  of  the  rye  must  have  been  ergot;  and  if  one-tifth  of  the 
weight  of  the  hay  was  made  up  of  wild  rye,  then  a  20-i)ound  ration  o 
hay  would  contain  about  4  ounces  of  ergot. 

As  is  always  the  case  w^here  an  attempt  is  made  to  account  for  resulti 
when  the  conditions  affecting  these  have  not  been  intelligently  observe^ 
aud  carefully  recorded  at  the  time,  we  found  some  apparent  discrepan 
cies  in  the  ergot  theory.    The  greater  part  of  these  have  been  explaiuei 
in  a  remarkably  satisfactory  manner,  and  if  we  could  know  every  cir 
cumstance  connected  with  the  feeding  and  care  of  the  animals  for  thirty' 
or  forty  days  preceding  their  illness,  doubtless  the  most  critical  could 
be  satisfied  as  to  the  cajase  of  the  disease  in  every  subject.     As  we  are 
compelled,  however,  to  rely  upon  the  more  or  less  defective  memoriea 


I 


;/ 


34 


;)o»u'   were  nil 


Of  Hi   ii. 

.,.,f  l.'.vi 


Plate  TH. 


Marx  from  Nature 


A.HoeniCo.liitiocaustic,  Baltimore. 


ERGOT     IN     HAY. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    AXIMALS.  35 

of  the  owners  of  the  cattle,  who,  of  course,  did  not  make  their  observa- 
tions in  tlie  light  of  subsequent  developments,  we  must  accept  the 
situation  as  we  find  it  and  consider  ourselves  fortunate  if  a  connection 
can  be  traced  between  cause  and  effect  in  the  greater  part  of  the  cases. 
An  exact  estimate  could  not  be  made  of  the  quantity  of  ergot  in  a  given 
quantity  of  the  hay  in  Kansas,  but  the  weight  of  ergot  in  the  heads  of 
■wild  rye  indicated  this  very  closely.  The  head  shown  in  Plate  Vll,  Fig- 
ure 3,  is  a  good  representation  of  this  plant  as  it  existed  in  the  hay.. 

In  jMissouri  the  hay  was  made  up  mostly  of  red  top  {Agrostis  inihjaris)\ 
but  also  contained  some  blue  grass  and  timothy.  The  red  top  and 
blue  grass  contained  a  very  large  proportion  of  ergoted  grains,  and  an 
occasional  head  of  timothy  was  also  affected.  Figures  1,  2,  and  4,  Plate 
VIE,  are  drawings  from  specimens  of  these  grasses  taken  from  the  hay- 
racks at  which  the  diseased  cattle  were  eating. 

In  Illinois  the  hay  was  almost  entirely  composed  of  red  top,  and  this 
contained  a  relatively  large  amount  of  ergot.  Careful  weighings  o£ 
specimens  of  this  hay  and  the  ergot  which  it  contained,  from  two  of  ther 
worst  affected  farms,  demonstrate  that  every  75  pounds  of  hay  contains- 
1  pound  of  ergot ;  or,  in  other  words,  an  animal  eating  20  pounds  daily 
of  this  hay  consumed  4.2  ounces  of  ergot.  Doubtless  this  quantity 
might  be  taken  daily  for  a  considerable  time  without  i)roduciug  ap]jre~ 
ciable  effects  under  some  conditions,  but  when  the  circulation  in  the 
extremities  is  diminished  bj"  extremely  cold  weather,  and  when  in  ad- 
dition to  this  the  water  supply  is  limited  then  ergot  iu  this  dose,  coa- 
tinned  day  after  day,  becomes  very  dangerous. 

In  Kansas  I  examined  the  hay  on  adjoining  farms  where  no  disease  had 
appeared,  and  1  found  a  very  much  smaller  proportion  of  ergot.  At  the 
Dibble  farm,  which  joins  Keith's,  one  might  examine  a  dozen  heads  of 
rye  without  finding  a  grain  of  ergot,  and  the  same  was  ti  ue  of  hay  found 
in  the  town  of  Xeosho  Falls.  Iu  Illinois,  at  two  farms,  I  saw  hay  of  the 
cro])  of  1882  aiul  also  that  of  1883,  and  while  the  former  contained  some 
ergot  the  latter  contained  a  greatly  increased  proportion.  It  had  beeni 
noticed  by  the  i)eoj)le  here  that  the  red-top  hay  of  the  crop  of  1883,  for 
some  unexplained  reason,  was  greatly  inferior ;  that  animals  neither 
relished  it  nor  thrived  when  led  upon  it,  and  it  sold  for  $3  a  ton  when 
other  hay  would  bring  810.  At  Keating's  the  animals  fed  on  the  hay 
of  1882  escaped  the  disease  entirely,  while  those  fed  upon  the  hay  har- 
vested in  1883  alone  suffered. 

Evidently  the  year  1883  was  a  favorable  one  for  the  production  of 
ergot  over  a  very  large  area  of  the  Western  States,  but  the  local  condi- 
tions of  soil  and  situation  and  the  time  of  cutting  the  hay' had  a  very 
great  inflncice  on  its  «1ovelopinent.  All  of  the  ergoted  hay  of  the 
affected  farms  in  Kansas  was  cut  from  bottom  lands,  and  in  Missouri 
and  Illinois  il  was  grown  on  very  level  prairies  the  drainage  of  which 
was  very  inii)erfe(;t.  Again,  the  early  cut  hay  was  comparatively  free^ 
when  that  allowed  to  ripen  was  badly  affected. 


36  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

In  brief,  then,  our  reasons  for  considering  tlie  disease  to  be  ergotism 
were,  first,  tlie  character  of  tbe  lesions,  which  were  such  as  have  always 
been  ascribed  to  ergotism  in  the  past,  and  as  could  scarcely  be  produced 
in  so  many  an i nulls  from  any  other  known  cause;  and,  secondly,  the 
extraordinary  proportion  of  ergot  found  in  the  food  of  the  animals  on 
every  affected  farm. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  cold  weather  had  a  considerable  influence 
in  developing  the  effects  of  the  ergot,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  cases 
were  first  noticed  during  or  soon  after  such  weather.  Many  cases  oc- 
.curred  soon  after  a  severe  ice  storm  or  sleet.  Again,  with  the  appear- 
ance of  milder  weather  new  cases  ceased  to  appear,  although  the  same 
bay  was  still  being  fed.  The  two  or  three  new  cases  in  Missouri  were 
the  only  excei)tions  to  this  statement. 

I  have  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  the  cases  which  I  investigated,  and 
the  similar  cases  which  occurred  about  the  same  time  in  other  localities, 
were  cases  of  ergotism.  Professor  Law,  of  Cornell  University,  Profes- 
sor Stalker,  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College,  and  Professor  Faville,  of 
the  Colorado  Agricultural  College,  have  seen  similar  cases  in  their  re- 
spective States,  and  concur  in  the  opinion  that  they  are  due  to  poison- 
ing from  ergot. 

CHARACTERS    WHICH    DISTINGUISH    THIS    DISEASE    FROM  EPIZOOTIC 
APHTHA,    OB   FOOT-AND-MOUTH   DISEASE. 

History. — The  foot-and-mouth  disease  of  Europe  is  a  specific  fever  which 
only  arises  by  contagion  from  other  affected  animals.  In  the  whole  his- 
torv  of  America  there  have  been  no  spontaneous  outbreaks  of  this  disease, 
and  in  Euro|>e  the  conviction  is  growing  stronger  every  year  that  it  has 
no  other  cause  than  contagion.  We  may  accept  it,  therefore,  as  a  fact 
that  foot-and-mouth  disease  cannot  occur  in  the  United  States  except 
by  the  introduction  of  virus  from  abroad. 

When  a  disease  having  some  resemblance  in  its  symptoms  to  foot-and- 
mouth  disease  is  found  in  the  interior  of  our  country,  more  than  a  thou- 
sand miles  from  the  ports  .where  the  contagion  must  necessarily  be  in- 
troduced, it  becomes  a  matter  worthy  of  the  most  careful  consideration 
to  determine  if  there  was  any  means  by  which  this  contagion  could 
have  been  transported  to  the  affected  herd.  When  a  contagious  dis- 
ease is  spread  broadcast  over  a  country  it  may  be  difticult  or  impossi- 
ble to  trace  many  outbreaks  ;  not  so,  however,  with  a  single  outbreak 
produced  by  so  virulent  a  contagion  as  that  of  the  disease  under  con- 
sideration. In  such  a  case  it  would  be  remarkable  if  it  could  not  be 
traced. 

In  the  present  instance  the  animals  of  the  affected  herds  had  been 
purchased  or  raised  in  the  neighborhood  ;  no  foieign  animals  or  i)eople 
had  been  upon  the  farm  where  the  first  attacks  occurred.  Foreign  cat- 
tle had  for  a  long  time  been  quarantined  at  the  sea-board  a  sufficient 
time  to  make  it  impossible  that  this  disease  could  have  been  carried  by 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  37 

tliem  to  the  West.     It  was  absolutely  iiupossible  to  fiud  auy  satisfac- 
tory manner  b}'  wbicli  a  foreign  coutagiou  could  bave  been  introduced. 

This  important  indication  seems  to  bave  been  greatly  neglected  iu 
deciding  ni)()n  the  nature  of  the  disease  in  Kansas.  It  was  said  if  this 
is  foot-and-mouth  disease  we  must  acknowledge  that  we  have  it,  whether 
we  can  trace  its  introduction  or  not.  Plausible  as  this  reasoning  may 
seeni  we  must  admit  that  it  is  not  always  an  easy  matter  to  diagnose  a 
disease  ott'-hand  from  its  superficial  characters.  And  in  the  diagnosis' 
of  contagious  diseases  we  must  remember  that  the  symptoms  are  but 
the  expression  of  the  effects  of  the  virus,  and  that  these  symptoms 
may  be  simulated  more  or  less  closely  by  other  agencies  acting  upon 
the  animal  economy. 

The  history  of  the  origin  of  any  disease  believed  to  be  contagious  is, 
then,  a  most  important  part  of  the  evidence  to  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion before  a  diagnosis  is  reached.  We  may  take  contagious  pleuro- 
pneumonia for  example.  Many  cases  of  this  disease  resemble  so  closely 
spontaneous  inflamnuitions  of  the  resi)iratory  organs  iu  cattle  that  it  is 
absolutely  necessarj'  before  a  diagnosis  can  be  reached  to  inquire  if  the 
contagious  pleuropneumonia  has  been  introduced  or  if  the  malady  occur- 
red spontaneously.  The  same  principle  holds  good  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  with  other  diseases,  and  it  may  be  safelj'  asserted  that  when  the 
history  does  not  receive  proper  consideration  many  mistakes  will  be 
made  that  otherwise  might  be  avoided. 

Confaf/iovsness. — Thevirus  of  foot-and-mouth  disease  is  one  of  the  most 
active  contagions  know^n.  The  period  which  elapses  between  exposure 
and  the  appearance  of  the  first  symptoms  of  the  disease  is,  as  a  rule, 
but  two  or  three  days;  a  very  large  proportion  of  exposed  animals  be- 
come diseased,  and  the  plague  spreads  rapidly  from  farm  to  farm.  As 
a  result  of  these  characters,  within  a  week  after  the  introduction  of 
foot  and-mouth  disease  into  a  herd  nearly  every  animal  in  that  herd 
shows  unmistakable  evidences  of  having  contracted  it.  A  very  snuiU 
proportion  of  the  animals  may  resist  the  contagion,  but  this  proportion 
is  much  less  than  with  most  other  contagious  diseases,  and  is  so  small 
that  it  does  not  affect  the  rule  just  mentioned. 

The  disease  at  Neosho  Falls  showed  very  different  characters  from 
this.  Goodrich's  herd  suffered  in  the  largest  proportion.  Go  out  of  90, 
or  68  per  cent.,  being  more  or  less  affected.  The  first  case  here 
occurred  January  10,  and  no  others  until  February-  15,  or  more  than 
a  month  later.  After  this  new  case.s  continued  to  develop  for  two  or 
three  weeks.  But  in  a  lot  adjoining  that  in  which  the  sick  cattle 
Mere  placed  there  were  20  calves,  which  remained  entirely  free  from 
disease.  The  isolation  of  these  calves  was  not  sutlicient  to  iiold  foot- 
and-mouth  disease  in  check  for  a  single  day;  it  was  even  said  that  the 
sick  cattle  had  been  driven  through  the  calf  lot  to  water,  and  that  some 
of  the  smaller  ones,  when  attacked,  were  placed  with  the  calves. 

At  Keith's  74  out  of  a  total  of  118,  or  03  per  cent.,  were  affected. 


38  CONTAGIOUS   DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  but  20  or  30  liead  had  been  attacked,  and 
from  this  time  new  cases  continued  to  appear  until  March,  or  during 
a  period  of  two  months.  Here  also  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  in  a 
lot  of  animals  sei)arated  from  the  sick  ones  by  a  simple  rail  fence 
there  was  no  appearance  of  disease  until  two  months  after  it  had  at- 
tacked the  first  lot.  Hogs  were  running  in  the  lot  with  the  worst  cattle; 
they  even  ate  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered  ones  and  nibbled  at  the 
affected  feet,  but  they  did  not  suffer  in  the  least.  A  sow  had  brought 
forth  a  li:ter  of  pigs  in  a  shed  which  forms  a  part  of  the  inclosure,  and  j 
these  were  doing  well.  Two  calves  were  sucking  mothers  under  the 
iutiuence  of  the  disease  but  were  themselves  in  good  health. 

At  Pribbernow's  only  8  per  cent,  of  the  animals  had  been  attacked,   j 
and  among  a  lot  of  54  yearlings  running  with  the  other  cattle  there  was 
not  one  case  of  disease. 

At  Beard's,  in  a  herd  of  75,  the  first  animal  was  lame  a  week  before   j 
the  second  was  affected ;    and  then  another  week  passed  before  the 
others  showed  any  symptoms.     Here  only  6  per  cent,  of  the  cattle  on 
the  farm  were  attacked,  and  one  died  within  twenty  hours  from  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  first  symptoms. 

At  Kirksville  the  proportion  of  animals  that  suffered  was  not  defi- 
nitely ascertained,  but  there  was  no  evidence  of  contagion,  and  sheep 
running  with  the  affected  cattle  remained  healthy. 

In  Illinois,  on  the  Fauuce  farm,  the  horses  suffered  from  an  eruption 
in  the  mouth.  The  exact  nature  of  this  disease  it  was  impossible  to 
ascertain  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that 
horses  seldom  suffer  from  footand  mouth  disease;  and  that  this  is  the 
only  case  which  came  under  my  notice  on  any  of  the  affected  farms 
where  any  other  animals  than  cattle  showed  symptoms  that  were  even 
suspected  to  be  in  any  way  connected  with  the  disease  among  the  cattle. 
In  this  instance  the  eruption  in  the  horses'  mouths  could  not  have  re- 
sembled foot-and-mouth  disease  very  closely,  for  it  lemained  at  least 
six  weeks,  or  three  times  the  period  of  the  latter  disease.  Here  the 
neighbors'  hogs  which  were  running  around  the  farm  failed  to  contract 
any  disease  or  to  carry  it  to  other  farms. 

At  Mr.  Mason's  there  was  still  more  striking  evidence  to  show  that 
tlie  disease  was  very  different  from  epizootic  aphtha.  One  hundred  hogs 
aud  40  sheep  had  been  exposed,  and  not  one  suffered.  Only  17  bovine 
aainials  out  of  120,  or  about  15  i)er  cent.,  showed  any  signs  of  the  dis- 
ease. At  Keating's,  00  sheep  and  a  number  of  hogs  were  exj)osed  but 
all  remained  well.     At  Dubroc's,  goats  were  exposed  without  suffering. 

The  disease,  therefore,  did  not  resemble  foot-and-mouth  disease  either 
in  the  proportion  of  the  animals  attacked  or  its  rate  of  extension,  or  in 
attacking  other  species  of  animals  than  cattle.  | 

Occurrence  at  the  same  lime  on  icideli/  separated  farms. — If  foot-and- 
month  disease  had  been  introduced  into  the  heart  of  the  country  in  any 
of  the  extraordiiuiry  ways  which  were  offered  to  explain  its  appearance, 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    IXIMALS.  39 

we  surely  cauiiot  couceive  of  its  being  brought  to  so  mauy  widely  sep- 
arated i)oiuts  at  about  the  same  time,  especially  where  there  had  beeu 
no  communication  between  these  places.  In  Kansas  there  were  the 
Keith,  Goodrich,  and  Beard  herds  which  might  be  grouped  together; 
14  miles  from  these  was  the  Pribbernow  herd;  20  miles  from  any  of 
these  was  the  cow  at  Hall's  Summit;  across  another  space  of  15 
miles  was  the  O'Toole  herd ;  then  it  was  necessary  to  travel  nearly  200 
miles  to  reach  the  Osborne  Countj"  cases.  Again,  the  same  disease  un- 
doubtedly existed  at  several  points  in  Iowa,  Illinois,  and  Missouri. 
There  had  been  no  communication  between  these  places,  and  if  we 
assumed  that  they  were  the  result  of  a  foreign  contagion  it  was  neces- 
sary to  conclude  that  a  considerable  number  of  independent  introduc- 
tions of  this  had  occurred  at  very  nearly  the  same  time.  This  assump- 
tion, in  view  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  introducing  a  contagion  to 
the  interior  of  the  country,  and  the  impossibility  of  tracing  such  intro- 
duction at  this  time,  was  so  improbable  that  it  could  scarcely  be  ad- 
mitted even  if  all  other  evidence  had  pointed  to  foot-and-mouth  disease. 

Comparison  of  symptoms. — The  symptoms  of  foot  and-mouth  disease 
are  constitutional  and  local.  The  constitutional  symptoms  are  loss  of 
ai)petite,  elevation  of  temi^erature,  and  other  signs  common  to  fevers. 
The  local  symptoms  consist  in  an  eruption  of  blisters  in  the  mouth,  be- 
tween the  toes,  about  the  coronet,  and  on  the  udder  and  teats.  In  order 
to  understand  the  difference  in  symptoms  between  the  recejit  disease  in 
the  Western  States  and  foot-and  mouth  disease,  it  is  necessary  to  ex- 
amine each  of  those  points  separately. 

The  constitntional  symptoms. — In  foot  and-mouth  disease  there  is  usu- 
ally a  very  marked  increase  of  temperature,  reaching  from  104^  to  107°. 
At  iS'eosho  Falls  the  temperature,  as  a  rule,  did  not  exceed  what  might 
reasonably  be  expected  in  health.  Some  of  the  perfectly  healthy  year- 
lings had  a  temperature  of  103°,  while  that  of  most  of  the  sick  ones  was 
below  this  point.  One  of  the  steers  in  the  early  stages  of  disease  at 
Keith's  showed  104.4°  on  March  0,  which  was  about  the  highest  point 
reached  by  any.  In  foot-and  mouth  disease  there  is  loss  of  appetite  and 
difficulty  of  swallowing,  but  here  the  universal  testimony  was  that  the 
appetite  had  remained  good  throughout  and  there  was  no  trouble  iu 
mastication  or  swallowing.  In  Illinois  there  were  marked  symi)toms  of 
digestive  disturbance,  and  the  disease  was  ushered  in  by  diarrhea. 

The  mouth  syinptoms. — In  foot-and-mouth  disease  there  is  an  eruption 
of  blisters  on  the  mucous  nuMubraues  of  the  lips,  gums,  tongue,  and 
palate,  which  are  numerous  and  i)ainful.  Often  they  unite  with  each 
other  and  form  large  patches,  from  which  the  covering  becomes  detached, 
leaving  ulcerous  patches  of  a  bright  red  color  and  of  great  sensitiveness. 
It  is  almost  impossible  for  animals  in  this  condition  to  oat  hay  or  other 
dry  food,  and  it  is  necessary  to  support  them  with  gruel.  Such  animals 
stand,  making  a  peculiar  and  rather  loud  smacking  noise  with  the  lips 
and  tongue,  griiuling  the  teeth  and  slavering  i)rofuse]y.     In  Jvansas  the 


40  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

mouth  symptoms  were  iiinch  less  severe  tbau  this,  but  two  or  tbree- 
animals  were  reported  to  Lave  bad  any  salivation  or  auy  difSculty  in 
eating  bay.  Some  of  tbe  moutbs  presented  erosions,  wbicb  were  mostly 
small,  very  superficial,  and  without  auy  appearance  of  ulceration.  I  did 
not  see  a  single  blister,  but  a  few  of  these  were  reported  by  those  who 
visited  the  herds  at  an  earlier  date.  Tbe  lesions  which  I  saw  in  the 
moutbs  seemed  to  be  due  rather  to  a  softening  of  the  mucous  membrane 
tbau  to  vesicatiou ;  and  I  was  assured  that  tbe  appearances  did  not 
differ  materiall^^  at  the  time  of  my  visit  from  what  they  Mere  when  the 
veterinarians  first  saw  them.  In  one  or  two  animals  there  were  large 
patches  of  thickened  mucous  membrane  of  a  yellowish  color,  bard  and 
diflicult  to  detach.  Healthy  herds  in  the  vicinity  were  visited,  and  in 
the  mouths  of  these  cattle  were  found  discolorations  and  erosions  very 
similar  to,  though  less  extensive  than,  those  seen  iu  the  sick  ones.  In 
Missouri  some  of  the  cattle  had  the  mouths  involved  to  a  greater  degree 
than  any  I  saw  iu  Kansas,  but  others  with  equally  bad  feet  had  per- 
fectly sound  mouths.  Here  I  saw  pieces  of  mucous  membrane  becom- 
ing detached,  but  no  blisters.  Figures  1  and  2,  Plate  X,  show  tbe 
highly  inflamed  condition  of  the  ulcers  in  the  real  foot-and-mouth  dis- 
ease. 

The  cattle  in  Illinois  still  had  erosions  in  their  mouths  as  late  as  April 
24,  which  were  identical  in  appearance  with  those  1  saw  in  Kansas.  The 
steer  which  first  came  down  with  the  disease  ou  the  Faunce  farm,  and 
which  had  consequently  been  affected  about  four  months,  showed  these 
about  as  plainly  as  any  animals  I  saw  in  Kansas.  In  foot-and-mouth  dis- 
ease the  eruption  disappears  iu  from  two  to  three  weeks,  and  the  animal 
is  convalescent.  Before  proceeding  to  Kansas  and  Illinois  the  second 
time,  I  visited  the  herds  at  Portland,  Me.,  which  had  been  affected  with 
foot-and-mouth  disease.  Tbe  contrast  was  very  striking.  Although  the 
cattle  in  Mame  had  not  showed  the  disease  until  the  second  week  iu 
February',  they  were  on  the  IGth  of  April  in  apparently  good  health. 
There  were  no  longer  any, sores  in  tbe  mouths  or  on  the  feet.  A  week 
later  than  this  I  found  cattle  in  Illinois  tliat  sickened  iu  December  and 
still  had  as  marked  mouth  symptoms  as  could  be  found  in  any  of  the 
Western  herds. 

The  feet  symptoms. — Tbe  interdigital  si)aces  and  tbe  coronet  are  the 
seat  of  tbe  eruption  in  foot-and-mouth  disease.     ^STot  only  is  there  red- 
ness, heat,  and  swelling  in  these  parts,  but  there  is  formation  of  blisters, 
loss  of  ei)itbelium,  and  a  secretion  from  tbe  whole  affected  surface  of" 
the  skin.     Tbe  appearance  of  tbe  feet  with  sheep  and  cattle  baviug  this 
disease  is  shown  in  Figs.  1,  2,  and  3,  Plate  IX.     Sometimes  abscesses 
form  beneath  the  boru,  from  which  the  pus  may  burrow  and  cause  the-] 
loss  of  tbe  hoofs,  or  even  affect  tbe  liga-ments  and  joints.     But  severe-" 
complications  in  the  region  of  the  foot  do  not  occur  except  from  this 
cause.    With  tbe  cattle  which  I  visited,  the  feet  presented  a  very  dif- 
ferent appearance.     Some  of  tbe  limbs  were  separating,  as  a  couse- 


J 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  41 

quence  of  dry  gaugrene,  lialf  way  between  the  fetlock  aud  hock  joiuts, 
with  the  skiu  of  tlie  foot  still  in  perfect  condition,  though  dead.  In 
otbeis  the  separation  occurred  at  the  fetlock,  aud  in  niauj'  others  at  the 
joints  below,  but  not  as  a  consequence  of  the  burrowing  of  pus.  In- 
deed, very  little  pus  was  to  be.  seen  in  any  of  the  feet.  It  is  not  rare  to 
see  the  horn  of  one  or  both  toes  lost  in  foot-and-mouth  disease,  but  it 
would  be  remarkable  for  the  whole  toe,  inchiding  the  bone,  to  slough 
oft",  as  occurred  so  frequently  here.  I  did  not  see  a  case  where  the  hoof 
was  lost  without  a  loss  of  the  bone  at  the  same  time.  The  complete 
death  of  the  foot  to  the  fetlock,  or  even  higher,  as  occurred  in  all  the 
worst  cases  in  the  West,  is  altogether  unheard  of  in  foot-and-mouth  dis- 
ease. While  there  was  redness,  heat,  and  swelling  above  the  line  of 
separation,  I  saw  no  appearance  of  blisters  between  the  toes  or  around 
the  coronet.  A  large  proportion  of  the  affected  animals  were  simplj^ 
lame,  and  had  neither  blisters  nor  sores  about  the  feet.  Finally,  the 
disease  was  generally  confined  to  the  hind  feet,  or,  if  it  attacked  a 
forefoot,  it  was  only  after  both  hind  ones  were  affected.  Foot-and- 
mouth  disease  has  no  such  decided  preference  for  the  posterior  extrem- 
ities. 

The  eruption  on  the  udder. — In  only  one  case  that  I  have  heard  of  in 
the  West  was  there  any  appearance  of  an  eruption  on  the  udder  of  the 
affected  cow.  This  was  a  cow  belonging  to  Mr.  Keith,  the  young  calf  of 
which  died,  as  was  supposed  from  the  effects  of  the  disease  contracted 
from  its  mother.  I  am  unable  to  account  for  the  sores  which  evidently 
existed  on  the  udder  of  this  cow,  not  having  seen  her  until  they  were 
nearly  healed.  There  is  also  considerable  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
calf's  death.  Certain  it  is  that  an  eruption  of  blisters  ou  the  udder  is 
an  extremely  common  occurrence  in  foot-aud  mouth  disease  (Fig.  3, 
Plate  X).  In  the  West,  however,  a  considerable  number  of  cows  were 
affected,  and  but  one  had  any  symptoms  of  this  kind. 

Iveviewing  these  symptoms,  we  can  see  that  tlie  disease  which  I  in- 
vestigated had  few  if  any  characters  in  common  with  foot-and-mouth 
disease.  Among  the  whole  number  there  was  not  a  single  animal  which 
presented  the  typical  characters  of  this  plague.  There  did  not  appear 
to  be  a  single  animal  which  presented  even  the  typical  mouth  symptoms, 
or  the  typical  feet  symptoms  of  that  disease.  The  history,  the  charac- 
ters, the  symptoms,  everything  connected  with  the  disease,  led  us  to 
conclude,  therefore,  that  it  could  not  be  the  contagious  foot-and-mouth 
disease. 

CHARACTERS  WHICH  DISTINGUISH  THIS   DISEASE  EROM  FOX'L-IN-THE.- 

FOOT. 

The  disease  known  as  foul -in- the  foot,  and  often  called  foot-rot,  has 
its  origin  in  the  skin  of  the  interdigital  space.  It  begins  as  a  superfi- 
cial inflammation,  which  is  followed  by  sloughing,  ulceration,  supi)ura- 
tion,  the  burrowing  of  pus,  and  the  formation  of  sinuses.     By  this  pro- 


42  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

cess  the  diisease  may  gradually  exteud  beneath  the  born  of  tlie  toes  and 
toward  the  deeper  parts  of  the  foot,  until  the  tendons,  bones,  ligaments, 
-and  articulations  are  involved.  In  extreme  cases  it  may  even  extend 
to  or  above  the  fetlock  joint.  Steel,  in  his  new  work  on  the  "  Diseases 
of  the  Ox,"  sums  up  this  characteristic  of  the  disease  as  follows: 

Thus  the  pathological  coiulitious  of  this  disease  are.  at  first,  the  existeuce  of  iiiflaui- 
ination  in  the  interiligital  siibstuuce,  which  may  be  partially  removed  by  sloughing, 
then  the  presence  of  pus  beneath  the  hoof-horn,  boring  and  forming  simple  sinuses, 
which  extend  outwards  and  burst  on  the  surface.  The  patient  is  very  lame,  and  the 
digits  are  separated  from  one  another  in  a  remarkable  manner. 

That  is,  foul  begins  between  the  toes,  forms  sores  there,  and  these 
slowl^^  extend  by  ulceration  and  the  burrowing  of  pus.  Neither  in 
Kansas,  Missouri,  nor  Illinois  were  any  such  pathological  characters  as 
these  seen.  There  was  sudden  and  complete  death  of  a  toe  or  of  a  foot, 
or  in  some  cases  of  a  leg  as  high  as  the  hock  joint ;  the  disease  showed 
no  tendency  to  extend,  but  was  limited  by  a  groove  around  the  limb, 
which  soon  became  a  crack,  and  the  affected  portion  was  sloughed  off. 
There  was  no  burrowing  of  i)us,  no  ulceration,  and  when  the  lifeless 
portion  of  the  limb  had  sei)arated,  the  stump  healed  as  readily  as  could 
be  expected.  The  disease  was  dry  gangrene  beyond  question,  and  dry 
gangrene  is  not  produced  by  foul-in-the-foot. 

Again,  those  who  so  confidently  pronounced  the  disease  to  be  foul, 
overlooked  the  gangrene  of  the  tails,  which  was  present  in  a  large  num- 
.  ber  of  cases,  and  was  most  marked  in  those  animals  in  w'hich  the  feet 
were  most  severely  affected. 

Finally,  the  digestive  disturbance  and  the  lesions  iu  the  mouths  were 
too  evidently  connected  with  the  disease  iu  the  feet  to  be  left  entirely 
out  of  consideration. 

It  is  surprising  that  two  diseases  having  such  different  symptoms 
could  be  confounded,  and  the  mistake  of  such  a  number  of  competent 
veterinarians  cau  only  be  explained  on  the  supposition  that  the  ex- 
iimination  was  hurried  and  superficial,  and  that  ergotism  among  ani- 
mals has  received  but  little  attention  ni  English-speaking  countries. 

OB.JECTIONS  WHICH  HAVE    BEEN    URGrED   AGAINST    THE    THEORY    OF 
ERGOTISM   IN   KANSAS. 

When  we  first  diagnosed  the  disease  at  ISTeosho  Falls  to  be  ergotism, 
we  were  met  by  the  objection  that  ergotism  could  not  occur  without 
ergot  in  the  food,  and  that  this  condition  did  not  exist  on  the  affected 
farms.  It  lequired  but  a  few  miuutes  inspection  of  the  hay  racks,  how- 
ever, to  satisfy  the  most  skeptical  that  the  hay  at  Keith's,  Beard's,  and 
Pribbenu)w's  contained  a  large  quantity  of  ergot  in  the  wild  rye  which 
made  up  a  considerable  proi)ortion  of  tlie  forage.  And  subseciuent  ex- 
amination has  proved  its  existeuce  nearly  ever}' where  that  this  disease 
occurred. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  43 

The  second  objection  was  that  erg'ot  did  not  produce  dry  gangrene  in 
animals;  and  tliis  statement  lias  been  repeated  again  and  again  by 
professional  men  who  certainly  ought  to  have  known  better.  The  quo- 
tations from  standard  authorities  as  to  the  effects  of  ergot  and  the 
historical  compilation  contained  in  other  sections  of  this  report  will  be 
sufficient,  I  believe,  to  satisfactorily  dispose  of  these  assertions. 

Again,  it  was  said  that  it  required  enormous  quantities  of  ergot  to 
produce  appreciable  effects  on  cattle,  and  even  if  it  could  in  that  case 
cause  dry  gangrene,  the  quantity  found  in  the  Kansas  hay  was  totally 
insufficient  to  account  for  these  results.  To  this  I  reply  that  ergot  in 
different  seasons  is  known  to  differ  widely  in  its  poisonous  qualities ; 
that  certain  conditions,  such  as  extremely  (;old  weather  and  deficiency 
of  drinking  water,  undoubtedly  increase  its  effects  in  a  verj^  important 
degree,  and  that,  finally,  we  do  not  know  how  much  is  actually  neces- 
sary to  cause  dry  gangrene.  Careful  estinuites  of  tlie  quantity  of  ergot 
In  the  hay  in  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Kansas  show  that  these  cattle  must 
have  taken  with  their  food  from  3  to  4  ounces  of  this  poison  each  day. 
The  dose  of  ergot  recommended  by  standard  veterinarj"  authorities  as 
safe  for  medical  purposes  is  about  one  ounce  for  grown  animals,  but  it 
is  not  expected  that  this  would  be  used  for  more  than  one  or  two  days 
together.  The  diseased  cattle,  therefore,  had  taken  from  three  to  four 
full  doses  of  ergot  a  day,  and  continued  this  for  days  and  weeks.  Con- 
sidering that  the  action  of  ergot  is  to  diminish  the  caliber  of  the  blood- 
vessels, that  the  gangrene  of  the  extremities  is  directly  traceable  to 
deficient  blood  supply,  and  that  atmospheric  cold  also  has  a  marked 
tendency  in  this  direction;  that,  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  drinking 
X)laces  were  frozen  over,  and  the  holes  that  were  cut  through  the  ice 
were  only  kept  open  a  short  time  each  day,  it  would  appear  that  the 
conditions  were  very  favorable  for  the  development  of  ergot  poisoning. 

Then  it  was  reported  that  the  outbreak  in  Osborne  County  was  cer- 
tainly the  same  disease,  and  that  the  cattle  had  been  pasturing  on  green 
rye  and  consequently  could  not  get  ergot.  A  few  impiiries  brought  out 
the  fact,  however,  that  the  rye  pasture  had  only  been  in  use  for  three 
weeks,  while  the  disease  had  appeared  at  least  six  weeks  previously. 
There  was  no  reliable  information  as  to  what  these  cattle  had  been 
eating  before  the  appearance  of  the  disease,  and  the  forage  was  not 
examined  by  any  competent  person. 

"If  this  disease  is  due  to  ergot  i^oison,"  says  one  gentleman,  "why 
then  is  this  the  first  outbreak,  since  the  Kansas  farmers  have  fed  this 
same  kind  of  hay  to  their  cattle  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  State?" 
But  who  knows  that  they  have  ever  before  fed  hay  containing  as  much 
ergot?  In  Europe  the  enzootics  of  ergotism  have  t\t  times  been  a  cen- 
tury apart,  ami  it  is  a  well  kiu)wn  fact  that  it  is  only  in  occasional  years 
that  these  enormous  quantities  of  ergot  are  produced.  Tiien  how  can 
it  be  known  that  this  is  the  first  outbreak  of  the  disease  in  Kansas  ? 
Cattle  have  frequently  suffered  with  the  same  symptoms  in  Xew  York, 


44  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Pemisylvania,  Iowa,  and  Missouri,  and  why  uot  also  in  Kansas?  Wlio 
outside  of  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  suftering  herds  would  have 
heard  of  the  outbreak  under  consideration  had  it  not  been  for  the  mis- 
taken diagnosis  that  led  the  country  to  fear  the  presence  of  a  dangerous 
contagious  disease  ? 

Again,  would  not  this  reasoning  apply  to  any  supposed  cause  of  the 
disease  as  well  as  to  ergot  ?  No  matter  what  produced  the  disease,  if 
such  an  outbreak  lias  never  occurred  before  it  might  be  said  with  just 
as  much  force,  "Why,  then,  is  this  the  tirst  outbreak?" 

"Again,"  the  same  gentleman  goes  on  to  say,  "on  Mr.  Goodrich's 
farm,  where  the  disease  prevails,  the  lands  are  improved  by  cultivation, 
and  there  is  no  ergotized  rye  in  his  hay.  Yet  out  of  90  cattle,  40  headi 
of  young  stock  are  reported  affected  with  the  disease."  This  fact  was; 
the  most  troublesome  of  all  I  had  to  contend  with  in  making  my  diag- 
nosis, and  I  appreciated  its  importance  perhaps  as  much  as  ray  critic* 
could  have  appreciated  it.  The  gentleman's  statement  is  not  absolutely 
correct,  however,  as  there  was  a  small  quantity  of  ergoted  rye  in  the- 
hay;  but  still  there  was  so  much  less  than  was  seen  at  the  other  farms 
as  to  make  it  impossible  to  explain  why  the  cattle  here  should  be  affected 
even  to  a  greater  degree  than  elsewhere.  In  ray  preliminary  report  I 
explained  this  by  saying  that  wild  rye  was  known  to  grow  in  i:>atches,. 
and  that,  consequently,  hay  that  was  being  fed  at  one  time  could  uot 
be  considered  as  exactly  the  same  as  that  fed  three  mouths  before.. 
The  apparent  discrepancy  in  this  case  has  since  been  explained,  how- 
ever, in  a  much  more  satisfactory  manner.  Some  time  last  fall  Mr.. 
Goodrich  bought  two  stacks  of  hay  of  Mr.  Keith,  and  it  was  this  hay 
that  he  had  been  feeding  to  his  cattle  up  to  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of 
the  disease.  When  this  fact  was  learned  the  whole  matter  became  per- 
fectly clear,  and  what  at  first  appeared  the  greatest  objection  to  the- 
ergot  theory  turned  out  to  be  one  of  its  strongest  supports. 

Then  Mr.  Beard  is  mentioned  as  having  fed  75  head  of  cattle  all  win- 
ter on  hay  full  of  ergot,  and  escaped  with  but  5  diseased  animals.  Mr, 
Beard,  however,  had  fed  his  cattle  twice  a  day  on  corn-fodder,  that  is^ 
on  corn  which  had  been  shocked  but  not  husked,  and  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence his  cattle  ate  very  much  less  of  the  hay. 

"  Stranger  still  for  the  ergot  theory,  Mr.  Pribbernow  fed  195  cattle 
on  millet  hay  and  corn-fodder,  and  he  has  14  of  liisyoung  stock  affected." 
Here,  again,  the  zeal  of  the  gentleman  to  make  out  a  case  against  the 
ergot  theory-  has  led  him  to  make  statements  which  are  not  correct. 
Mr.  Pribbernow  had  some  very  badly  ergoted  hay,  which  he  showed  to 
me,  and  told  me  that  he  had  been  feeding  it  to  his  cattle  ;  and,  indeed,, 
there  was  plenty  of  evidence  that  this  was  the  case  from  the  conditions 
of  the  feeding  yards  and  racks.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  54  yearlings 
were  fed  on  millet  hay,  oats,  and  corn-fodder  in  addition  to  the  hay,  and 
that  not  one  of  these  was  affected.    The  older  cattle  had  been  fed  more 


J 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  45 

exclusively  on  the  hay,  aud  it  was  among  them  alone  that  the  effect  ot 
the  ergot  was  seen.  These  facts  I  noted  down  as  they  were  related  to 
lue  on  the  spot  by  Mr.  Pribbernow. 

"Another  puzzle  is  presented  by  Mr.  Keith  buying  G3  head  of  young 
stock  from  Mr.  Davis  on  the  15th  of  December,  and  on  the  23d  nearly 
all  were  down  with  the  disease.  Keith's  hay  contains  ergotized  rye. 
Davis  has  had  no  sickness  in  his  herd."  This  statement  is  also  very 
incorrect,  and  yet  it  contains  a  reference  to  the  one  unsolved  difKculty 
connected  with  the  Kansas  outbreaks.  The  G3  head  of  cattle  were  pur- 
chased December  10,  and  as  the  tirst  cases  of  sickness  on  this  fiirm  did 
not  occur  until  the  23d  or24:th,  and  as  at  the  1st  of  January  there  were 
still  less  than  thirty  cases  all  told  on  tlie  farm,  it  is  plain  that  these  ani- 
mals had  sufficient  time  to  contract  the  disease  after  their  i)urchase. 

The  ditiiculty  in  regard  to  the  ergot  theory  at  Iveith's  was  in  connec- 
tion with  another  lot  of  cattle  bought  about  the  15th  or  20th  of  Decem- 
ber. This  lot  consisted  of  6  yearlings  and  2  cows,  some  of  which  Mr. 
Keith  asserts  were  sick  within  three  days  and  all  within  eight  daj^s, 
and  that  they  were  not  fed  upon  hay  during  that  time,  but  upon  mowed 
oats  and  corn-fodder.  He  admitted,  however,  that  there  was  probably 
hay  in  the  racks  to  which  tliey  had  access.  There  was  much  doubt  as 
to  the  days  on  which  these  cattle  were  first  seen  to  be  lame,  and  as  to 
how  severely  they  were  affected.  It  is  also  impossible  to  say,  at  this 
time,  on  what  they  had  been  fed  previous  to  their  purchase.  This  diffi- 
culty, however,  does  not  (compare  with  that  felt  at  first  in  regard  to  the 
Goodrich  herd,  and  as  the  latter  was  satisfactorily  explained  at  the  last 
minute,  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  there  are  some  unknown  facts 
in  regard  to  the  8  cattle  in  question  that  would  explain  this  case  just 
as  satisfactorily. 

I  have  reviewed  above  the  chief  objections  that  have  been  advanced 
to  show  that  the  disease  in  Kansas  could  not  be  ergotism.  It  is  unnec- 
essary to  add  that  they  are  mostly  of  the  nature  of  captious  criticism. 
The  malady  had  been  pronounced  foot-and-mouth  disease  by  some  and 
foot-rot  or  foul  by  others,  and  these  gentlemen  found  it  desirable  to 
make  out  at  least  an  api)arent  case  against  ergotism.  In  other  sections 
of  this  report  I  have  given  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  it  could  be 
nothing  but  ergotism,  and  the  plates  herewith  presented,  which  were 
carefully  i)rei)ared  by  a  competent  artist,  are  sufficient  to  prove  this 
beyond  doubt  to  any  one  who  understands  the  pathology  of  these  differ- 
ent diseases. 

THE  NATURE,  CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION,  AND  ACTION  OF  ERGOT. 

The  substance  known  as  ergot  is  one  of  the  stages  in  the  life  history 
of  a  fungiis  which  has  been  named  Claviceps  purpurea.  The  term  ergot 
was  a])pli(Ml  to  it  by  the  French  from  its  fancied  resemblance  to  the  spur 
of  a  cock.     The  place  which  this  fungus  occupies  in  the  i)lan  of  nature 


46  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

may  be  understood  from  the  following  table,  whi<3b  is  taken  principally 
from  the  classification  ijroposed  by  Sachs : 

1         Group.  Clasi'.  Order.  Family.  Geni» 

^  I'Protoph.vta.  ("G.vmnoascu.s. 

■H  ^  I  Z.VB<i.«|)<)rp:n.  ■  |  Discoinycetes.      fClaviceps. 

t      ^l'llXT'''^     r""''""t^:   „   5  Containing  rhIoropl..vl!.  ( A.sconiycete.-.       J  Ersiphe.^.  I  Cordycep.. 

I  .nasi  men .        i  c  a.pu.poreic.  J  vvulmut  flilorophvll.     \  Ae.-idioniycetes.  j  Juberacex.  Byssothecmm. 

"l  Vascular  Cryptoeanis.  f  Basidiomycete"    I  Pyrenomycetes.  ^  FuuiHeo. 

^  ^  Phanerogam.^.  '  I  Lichens.  I  Pleospora. 

I  Sphaerella. 
iLaboiilbenia. 

The  growth  of  the  claviceps  begins  by  the  germination  of  conidia  or 
spores  of  this  fungus,  which  have  been  carried  by  currents  of  air  or  other 
means  to  the  tlowersof  the  grasses  favorable  for  its  development.  These 
conidia  or  spores,  as  the  case  maj'  be,  germinate  in  contact  with  the  ex- 
ternal surface  of  the  ovary  while  this  is  still  in  an  early  stage  of  its 
growth,  and  form  a  mycelium  which  penetrates  the  walls  of  the  ovary, 
and,  as  a  rule,  respects  only  the  summit.  It  thus  by  degrees  substitutes 
itself  in  place  of  the  tissue  of  the  ovary,  and,  consequently,  preserves  to 
a  considerable  extent  the  form  of  this  organ.  It  bears  on  its  summit 
the  stigma,  while  its  external  coat  is  traversed  by  deep  grooves  and 
irregular  cavities.  (In  Plate  VIIF,  Fig.  1,  is  seen  the  normal  ovary  of 
the  rye  plant;  Fig.  2  shows  the  same  invaded  by  the  claviceps.) 

In  this  stage  of  its  existence  it  has  been  called  the  sphacelia.  As  it 
develops  it  takes  entire  possession  of  the  ovary,  obliterating  its  cavity, 
and  preventing  the  development  of  the  ovule.  Tlie  ovule  may  be  either 
entirely  absent  or  it  may  be  present  in  an  imi)erfect  form,  but  does  not 
develop  into  a  seed.  The  mycelium  ])roduces  at  the  surface  of  the  ovary 
a  large  number  of  oval  corpuscles,  which  are  called  conidia,  and  which 
falling  upon  otlier  flowers  may  germinate  and  again  produce  the  my- 
celium or  sphacelia  form  of  the  fungus.  (PI.  VIII,  Fig.  3,  which  is  a 
cross-section  of  the  ovary,  now  called  sphacelia,  shows  these  conidia- 
at  its  borders.) 

Thesphacelia,  however,  isnot  theergotform  of  the  fungus.  At  the  base 
of  this  is  produced  a  hard  substance  with  a  black  or  darlv  violet  surface, 
and  white  or  grayish  within,  which  is  the  true  ergot  or  sclerotium  stage 
of  the  claviceps  fungus.  In  the  earliest  period  of  the  development  of 
the  sclerotium  this  is  entirely  covered  l\y  the  sphacelia,  but  it  gradually 
increases  in  size  and  pushes  the  sphacelia  before  it  until  the  latter  is 
raised  entirely  beyond  the  floral  glumes,  and  is  supported  on  its  summit 
(PI.  VIII,  Figs. 4, 5,  6).  The  sclerotium,  or  ergot,  continues  to  increase  in 
size  and  length,  and  the  deformed  ovary  or  sphacelia  adheres  to  it  for  a 
long  time,  and  may  even  be  found  in  a  considerable  i)roportion  of  tlie 
specimens  as  seen  in  hay  or  mature  grain  after  curing.  In  these  the 
form  (;f  the  stigma  can  be  readily  made  out  in  most  cases  by  the  use  of 
a  low  power  lens. 

Ergot  is  not  therefore  a  diseased  seed ;  on  the  contrary,  it  develops 
entirely  below  the  ovary  and  prevents  the  formation  of  the  seed.  It  i& 
entirely  a  fungus  growth,  and  is  the  resting  stage  of  the  organism.     It 


iifei 


vT£].OF-M 


'.idorsto  ^llowincf  tal»  icipally 


r  conidia  or 

!»rothei 

These 

tfie  ex- 


substiti 


Plate  \T1I. 


i^ym-s^n^^s 


.  o  o  X  Op  o 

Oo  >^'     ■  O  O      O   ^ 


Marx  from  Nature. 


A.HosniCo.lirhijciustic,  Baltimo 


DEXTCLOPMENH^    OF    ERGOT. 


Plate   IX. 


Marx  from  Nature. 


A.HDcnlCo.liiHociusIic.  Sjltirr 


FOOT-AND-MOUTH  DISEASE  (  WALLEY  ) 


Plate    X. 


Marx  from  Nature 


A.Haeii»CQ.[ithoMuiJic.Saltimort. 


FOOT-AND-MOUTH  DISEASE  (  WALLEY  ) 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  47 

contains  little  or  no  starch,  and  its  microscoi>ical  strnctnre  is  that  of  the 
sclerotic  niycelia.  The  sclerotinni  is  Uioked  upon  as  a  hard  compact 
mass  of  imperfectly  developed  mycelia.  It  api)ears  to  be  about  a  month 
from  the  time  the  fungus  invades  the  ovary  until  the  ergot  is  fully 
formed. 

The  ergot  is  the  dormant  form  of  the  fungus,  and  remains  in  this  con- 
dition until  autumn,  or  usually  until  the  next  spring.  If  at  this  time  it 
is  in  contact  with  the  damp  ground  it  germinates  and  stromata  grow 
from  its  surface  (PI.  VIII,  Fig.  7).  Tliese  consist  of  a  long  stalk  and  a 
globular  head,  and  become  perfect  fruiting  fungi.  In  the  head  a  large 
number  of  flask-shaped  perithecia  are  formed  (see  PI.  VIII,  Fig.  8)^ 
which  are  filled  from  the  bottom  with  a  number  of  asci  (PI.  VIII,  Fig.  9), 
each  of  which  contains  several  slender  filiform  spores  (PI.  VIII,  Fig.  10). 

When  the  spores  reach  the  young  flowers  of  rye,  led  top  or  other 
nearly  allied  grasses,  they  germinate  and  form  a  mycelium  which 
invades  the  wall  of  the  ovary  and  again  produces  a  sphacelia.  With 
this  the  cycle  of  development  of  the  fungus  is  completed  and  we 
probably  have  its  entire  life  history.  The  meteorological  conditions 
most  favorable  for  the  production  of  ergot  are  not  well  known.  It  has 
been  asserted  that  it  only  appears  in  large  quantities  in  rainy  seasons^ 
but  others  believe  that  moisture  has  little  or  no  influence  on  its  devel- 
opment. It  is  also  uncertain  whether  more  than  one  S)>ecies  of  clavi- 
ceps  is  concerned  in  the  production  of  ergot  in  the  different  varieties  of 
grasses.  The  ergot  of  the  red-top  hay  in  Missouri  and  Illinois  produced 
identical  effects  with  that  in  the  wild  rye  of  Kansas,  and  it  would 
therefore  appear  that  the  phj'siological  effects  are  substantially  the 
same  even  though  the  species  growing  upon  these  two  plants  may  be 
different. 

The  grains  of  ergot  of  rye  are  from  half  an  inch  to  over  an  inch  in 
length,  and  from  one-fifteenth  to  one-sixth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  ;  they 
are  nearly  cylindrical,  sometimes  slightly  ribbed  and  farrowed,  and  often 
have  irregular  fissures;  they  are  curved,  and  taper  toward  the  ends. 
The  color  of  the  surface  varies  from  dark  violet  to  blue  black  or  black ; 
the  interior  is  white,  often  tinted  with  violet.  The  ergot  of  wild  rye, 
blite  grass,  and  red  top  has  the  same  general  appearance,  but  the 
grains  are  sujaller.  In  red  top  many  of  the  grains  are  so  small  that 
they  are  only  recognized  with  dilficulty  by  the  unaided  eye.  Some- 
times the  taste  is  pronounced  and  disagreeable;  but  the  ergot  in  the 
wild  rye  of  Kansas,  where  the  outbreaks  ot  disease  occurred,  was'al- 
most  or  entirely  without  taste,  and  certainly  was  in  no  sense  disagreea- 
ble when  masticated. 

Chemical  vomposiUon. — Ergot  is  a  very  com))lt'x  material  when  con- 
sidered chemically,  and  although  it  has  been  studied  by  many  com[)e- 
tent  chemists,  there  is  yet  much  doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  a  number  of 
the  substances  which  have  been  found  in  it.  About  35  per  cent,  of  its 
weight  consists  of  a  thick,  fluid,  (IxcmI  oil,  which  is  now  believed  to  be 


48  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

ithout  medical  i)roi)erties.  Two  noii-crystallizable  alkaloids  Lave  been 
described  and  called,  respectively,  ecfoo^ivm  and  erf/otina  ;  and  one  crys- 
tallizable  which  lias  been  designated  as  ergoilnine. 

Sclerotic,  ergotic,  audfuscosclerotinic  acids  have  been  isolated.  There 
is  also  a  qnestion  of  a  peculiar  amjnoniacal  base  variously  stated  to  be 
methi/Iamine,  frhiiethyJamine,  and  propylamia.  A  mucilaginous  sub- 
stance called  Hcleromucln  and  several  other  products  of  doubtful  nature 
have  been  recognized.  It  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated  which  of  these 
bodies  constitutes  the  active  principle  of  the  drug,  or  whether  the  phj'- 
siological  effect  may  not  be  due  to  a  number  acting  together. 

The  one  ]ioint  on  which  most  of  those  who  have  studied  ergot  have 
agreed  is  that  water  extracts  the  medical  properties,  and  this  seems  to 
be  about  the  extent  of  our  reliable  information  in  regard  to  this  depart- 
ment of  the  subject. 

The  action  of  ergot  on  the  animal  hody. — The  action  of  this  poison  in 
large  doses  is  very  clearly  given  in  the  following  extract  from  Dr.  H. 
C.  Wood's  Treatise  on  Therapeutics,  Materia  Medica  and  Toxicology : 

According  to  Diez  [quoted  hy  Stillc],  the  principal  ett'ects  of  poisonous  doses  of  ergot 
are  in  the  lower  aniuials  profuse  salivation,  vomiting,  dihitatiou  of  the  pupils,  hur- 
ried breutiiing,  frequent  pulse,  cries,  trembling,  staggering,  paraplegia,  sometimes 
diarrhea,  sometimes  constipation,  piostratiou,  urgent  thirst,  convulsions,*  and  death. 
Mr.  Samuel  A.  Wright,  in  a  series  of  experiments  {Edinhurijh  Med.  and  Surg.  Joiirn., 
Oct.,  1839,  vol.  lii),  noted,  when  the  medicine  was  given  by  the  mouth,  symptoms 
similar  to  those  just  spoken  of ;  the  paralysis  was  much  more  marked  than  the  spasms. 
Late  iu  the  poisoning,  the  heart's  action  became  irregular  and  intermittent,  and  the 
pulsations,  which  had  been  rapid,  grew  slow  and  feeble.  In  some  cases  the  special 
senses  seemed  to  be  destroyed,  and  coldness  of  the  surface  was  a  very  prominent 
symptom.  Mr.  Wright  also  injected  a  strong  infusion  of  the  drug  directly  into  the 
torrent  of  the  circulation.  Death  was  in  some  cases  produced  in  nine  minutes,  the 
symptoms  being  immediate  dilatation  of  the  pupils,  great  increase  in  the  rate  of  the 
cardiac  pulsations,  paralysis,  and  convulsions.  AVhen  the  fatal  result  was  not  brought 
about  in  so  short  a  space,  great  anaesthesia  of  the  surface  was  noted  a  considerable 
time  before  death  ;  coldness  of  the  surface  and  paralysis  of  the  special  seuses  were 
also  present  in  some  cases.  In  Dr.  Kersch's  experiments  {Betz's  Memor.,  vol.  xviii), 
the  concentrated  infusion  was  injected  into  the  jugular  veiu  ;  the  coldness  of  the  sur- 
face was  especially  noted,  and  also  great  muscular  rigidity.  Upon  rabits,  according 
to  the  researclies  of  Wright,  ergot  acts  very  feebly.  In  birds,  as  represented  by 
chickens,  turkeys,  and  ])igeous,  it  causes  symptoms  analogous  to  those  produced  in 
mannnals,  as  is  t^stitied  l»y  Tessier  and  by  Clross,  both  quoted  by  Stille,  and  by  Bon- 
jean  {Trail e  de  VErfiot  de  Seir/le,  Paris,  181.').) 

The  above  summary  of  the  general  symjjtoms  caused  by  poisonous  doses  of  ergot 
shows  that  the  ])henomena  are  nuiinly  paralytic  in  their  nature;  but,  although  an 
enormous  amount  has  l)e('n  written  al)out  the  drug,  -we  have  very  little  knowledge  as 
to  tbe  immediate  causes  of  the  i)aralysis.  Since  both  Wright  (?oc.  ci<.,  pp.  3'iO,  3'il) 
and  Kohler  have  found  that  the  voluntary  muscles  are  not  atfected  by  ergot,  it  w'ould 
seem  that  the  nervous  system  must  bear  the  brunt  of  the  poison.  Eugene  Haudelin  is 
said  to  have  shown  that  the  peripheral  nerves  are  not  aft'ected,  and  the  experiments 
of  Kohler  have  confirmed  this  so  far  as  concerns  the  motor  nerves  and  the  watery  ex- 
tract of  ergot.     He  found,  however,  that  those  portions  of  the  drug  not  soluble  in 

"Pereira  states  that  convulsions  were  not  present  in  the  experiments  of  Diez. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  49 

water  appeared  to  increase  the  excitability  of  the  peripheral  efferent  nerves,  and 
that  upon  the  peripheral  sensory  nerves  both  portions  of  the  ergot  acted  as  a  feeble 
depressant.  On  the  whole,  it  is  probable  that  the  chief  action  of  the  drug  is  upon 
the  nerve  centers. 

The  following-  experiments  of  Tessier  also  iadicate  the  active  nature 
of  the  ergot  poison  {Memoire  sur  les  effets  du  seigle  ergote.  Hist.  Soc. 
Roy.  lie  Med.,  1777,  1778,  Paris  1780,  vol.  il,  pp.  587-615): 

These  experiments  were  instituted  with  hygienic  precautions  upon  a 
number  of  animals.  Of  two  ducks  fed  upon  ergot,  one,  the  female,  died 
in  nine  or  ten  days.  It  had  consumed  one  ounce  and  three  drachms  of 
€rgot.  There  was  a  large  violet  spot  on  the  beak,  the  covering  epider- 
mis was  raised  up  by  a  collection  of  dark,  fetid  blood.  The  male  died 
in  fourteen  days  with  the  beak  similarly  affected ;  there  was  also 
drooping  of  one  wing  which  showed  two  regions  of  inflammation,  one 
in  the  fold  and  the  other  on  the  tirst  phalanx.  It  had  consumed  2 
ounces  and  6  drachms  of  ergot.  A  turkey  was  fed  8  ounces  4i 
drachms  of  ergot  within  twenty-two  days.  The  autopsy  revealed 
inflammation  about  the  beak,  but  none  of  the  feet  and  wings.  A  pig 
six  weeks  old  died  at  the  end  of  twenty-three  days  after  receiving  1 
pound  and  12  ounces  of  ergot.  The  autopsy  revealed  swelling  of  the 
four  feet  especially  at  articulations,  which  were  a  reddish  violet  color. 
The  ears  were  livid,  there  was  gangrene  of  one  side  of  the  head  and 
various  internal  inflammatory  lesions.  The  articulations  of  the  feet 
with  the  legs  being  uncovered  there  was  seen,  particularly  with  the  pos- 
terior limbs,  a  thick,  black,  and  fetid  li<piid.  The  animal  previous  to 
death  had  been  able  to  support  itself  better  on  its  fore  than  on  its  hind 
limbs.  A  six-months'  old  pig  died  after  being  fed  during  sixty-nine 
days  upon  a  total  of  22  pounds  and  G  ounces  of  ergot.  The  autopsy  re- 
vealed various  internal  inflammatory  lesions,  several  violet  spots  on 
front  and  hind  legs,  the  end  of  the  tail  dark  violet,  and  ears  livid.  The 
two  first  phalanges  of  the  right  anterior  foot  were  gangrenous  and  dry, 
especially  near  the  articulations.  The  bones  themselves  were  tinted 
brown.  The  same  parts  of  the  left  foot  were  gangrenous  but  not  so  far 
advanced,  as  the  bones  were  not  altered.  Upon  each  calcaneum  there 
was  a  livid  spot,  larger  on  one  than  on  the  other.  During  life  there 
was  on  the  twentieth  day  a  purulent  discharge  from  two  cavities  in  the 
articulation  of  the  right  foot ;  these  were  soon  covered  with  a  crust. 
The  limb  remained  cold.  On  the  forty  second  day  the  corrcsjxjiiding 
joint  of  the  left  anterior  leg  developed  a  tumor  which  by  the  fifty-eighth 
day  became  an  open  sore.  Both  legs  were  cold  and  swollen,  dry,  in- 
sensible, and  jtortions  of  the  muscles  became  detached.  The  animal 
was  no  longer  able  to  walk. 

Salerue,  cited  by  Read,  gave  to  a  small  male  pig  barley  mixed  witli 

half  its  weight  of  ergot.     At  the  end  of  fifteen  days  the  legs  became  re  1, 

secreted  a  yellowish  and  fetid  liuinor,  tiie  skin  of  the  back  and  beneath 

the  abdomen  became  black  in  color.     This  food  was  continued  for  fifteen 

5751  D  A 4 


50  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

dajs  and  then  replaced  by  some  free  from  ergot.  The  animal  died  four 
days  later ;  there  was  no  gangrene  of  the  feet.  Read  fed  a  pig  three 
months  old  for  fifteen  days  with  ergoted  wheat  mixed  with  bran. 
Gangrene  seized  the  left  ear  on  the  seventeenth  day  and  it  dropped  oft". 
The  pig  died  two  days  later  with  convulsions.  A  gangrenous  spot  was 
found  on  the  liver.     (A.  Tardy.     De  V Ergotism,  Paris,  1858.) 

Fleming,  in  his  Manual  of  Veterinary  Sanitary  Science  and  Police, 
(Vol.  T,  p.  65),  says:  "The  ergot  on  rye,  wheat,  &c.,  has  also  given  rise 
to  extensive  disease  in  man  and  animals,  including  birds,  marked  by 
convulsions,  paralysis,  dry  gangrene  of  the  limbs,  loss  of  hair  and  horn, 
and  other  strange  phenomena." 

M.  Tabourin,  in  his  Noueeau  Traite  de  Matiere  Medicale  de  Therapeut- 
ique  et  de  Pharmcwie  Veterinaires,  Paris,  1866,  gives  the  following  de- 
scription of  the  action  of  ergot  (pp.  448  to  450) : 

The  effects  of  ergot  of  rye  slioukl  be  divided  into  mediciual  and  toxic. 

Medicinal  effects. — The  action  that  ergot  of  rj'e  exercises  on  the  natural  surfaces  and 
on  the  denuded  tissues  has  been  very  little  studied  with  animals,  but  appears  to  be 
slio'htly  irritating ;  with  man  it  has  been  noticed  that  the  aqueous  extract  arrests 
capillary  hemorrhages  with  considerable  rapidity,  and  that  it  has  a  manifestly  as- 
triuo-ent  action  on  denuded  tissues.  In  the  digestive  tube  the  effects  are  but  little 
marked  when  the  medicine  is  given  in  small  doses;  it  is  only  when  the  quantifies  in- 
gested are  considerable  that  vomiting  occurs  Avith  carnivora  and  a  serious  irritation 
of  the  intestines  with  ail  animals.  In  regard  to  the  dynamic  or  gcTieral  effects  pro- 
duced by  the  ergot  of  rye  in  medicinal  doses,  when  its  active  principles  have  been 
absorbed,  they  are  almost  unnoticeable  with  healthy  animals  and  have  been  only  very 
imperfectly  studied  up  to  this  time.  It  follows,  however,  from  the  trials  undertaken 
by  various  authors  on  the  greater  part  of  the  domestic  animals,  that  this  medicine 
produces  with  them  as  with  man  two  effects  somewhat  opposed  to  each  other:  a 
very  pronounced  sedative  action  on  the  circulatory  center,  and  an  energetic  stimula- 
tion of  the  nervous  centers  .and  particularly  of  the  posterior  portion  of  the  spinal 
cord.  We  will  return  to  these  two  culminating  effects  of  ergot  of  rye  in  connection 
with  the  toxic  action  that  it  has  on  the  organism  which  we  are  now  about  to  study. 

Toxic  effects  — The  poisoning  of  animals  by  ergot  of  rye  is  called  ergotism.  It  may 
occur  at  the  end  of  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  according  to  Aarious  circumstances  and 
particularly  according  as  the  ergot  is  given  alone  or  mixed  with  the  food.  In  the 
former  case,  it  occurs  after  a  few  days  with  birds,  and  after  weeks  or  even  months 
with  mammals,  according  to  the  size  of  the  doses  and  the  time  between  them.  In  the 
second  case  it  is  much  slower  still,  and  when  its  existence  is  manifested  by  apparent 
phenomena  the  destruction  of  the  organism  is  already  consummated  and  there  is  no 
meaus  of  providing  a  remedy  for  it.  This  is  a  remarkable  example  of  chronic  or  slow 
poisoning. 

The  characteristic  signs  of  ergotism  are  of  two  varieties.  One  of  these  is  due  to  the 
uarcotico-acxid  and  exciting  action  that  the  ergot  exercises  on  the  nerve  centers  ;  the 
other  is  due  to  the  sedative  action  that  it  produces  on  the  heart.  When  the  former 
predominates,  as  has  been  observed  with  certain  epidemics  with  the  human  species, 
the  ergotism  is  called  convulsive;  when,  on  tlie  contrary,  the  second  is  more  pro- 
nounced the  ergotism  is  called  gangrenous.  It  is  difficult  to  establish  this  distinction 
with  animals  where  tlie  sigus  of  the  two  varieties  are  mixed  in  nearly  ecjual  propor- 
tion as  we  shall  demonstrate. 

1.  Soli^ndH. — Of  all  the  domestic  animals,  the  solipeds  are  the  least  exposed  to  poison- 
ing by  ergot  of  rye,  because  oats,  tht^  grain  they  receive  most  often,  is  rarely  affected 
with  this  alteration.     Only  two  authors,  MM.'Ilertwig  and  Parola,  have  made  experi- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  51 

meuts  on  solipeds  with  ergot  of  rye.  The  former  adiuiuistered  three  ami  (nic-half  kil- 
ograms (7.7  pounds)  of  ^this  substance  to  a  horse  in  the  space  of  24  days;  ho  ob- 
served some  nervous  phenomena  and  a  great  depression  Of  the  circulation,  liut  no  ap- 
pearance of  gangrene.  The  latter  gave  ergot  of  rye  to  a  mule,  aifected  with  chronic 
coryza,  for  six  days  in  the  dose  of  one  to  two  ounces  a  day.  There  was  slowing  of  the 
circulation,  decreased  temperature  of  the  body,  difficulty  of  respiration,  loss  of  appe- 
tite and  strength,  general  depression,  muscular  trembling,  slight  swelling  of  the  knees 
toward  the  end,  &c.  The  sultject  was  destroyed.  The  dischage  from  the  nose  had 
disappeared. 

2.  Large  ruminants. — Poisoning  of  large  ruminants  by  ergot  is  more  comumn  than 
that  of  solipeds  because  these  animals  receive  quite  often,  as  a  supplementary  ra- 
tion, the  rejected  grains  coming  from  the  thrasher  or  from  screeuiug,  which  always 
contain  more  or  less  ergot  of  rye  and  of  other  grains.  With  the  large  ruminuuts  the 
convulsive  phenomena  are  not  seen  or  are  not  very  apparent;  but  the  depressive  ef- 
fects on  the  circulatory  system  are,  on  the  con  trary,  very  marked.  Besides,  the 
health  is  maintained  without  serious  disturbance  during  weeks  and  even  months  if 
the  ergot  is  taken  with  the  food.  Only  the  extremities  lose  little  by  little  their  nat- 
ural warmth,  as  is  noticed  with  the  ears,  the  tail,  the  lower  part  of  the  limbs,  «&c. 
The  digital  region,  and  sometimes  even  the  metacarpal  and  metdltarsal  regions,  as  M. 
Decoste  has  observed,  are  smitten  with  dry  gangrene.  In  this  case,  the  parts  lose 
their  warmth,  their  sensibility,  become  hardeued  and  mummified,  and  soon  separate 
without  pain  from  the  parts  which  have  still  remained  living. 

3.  Small  ruminants. — It  is  known  that  the  sheep  may ,  like  other  animals,  feel  the  noxi- 
ous influence  of  ergot;  but  science  is  wanting  in  precise  documents  concernino-  this 
ruminant  and  the  goat. 

4.  rigs. — It  follows  from  some  experiments  made  on  these  animals  by  Tessier,  that 
ergot  of  rye  poisons  them  after  a  greater  or  less  time  according  to  their  force  of  resist- 
ance. There  is  seen  in  the  first  place  vertigo,  unsteadiness  in  standing,  a  totteri no- 
walk,  moaning,  swelling  of  the  eyes,  &c.  ;  then  the  ears,  the  tail,  the  lower  part  of 
the  limbs,  lose  their  warmth  and  vitality  ;  soou  appear  livid  spots,  which  afterward 
become  black  and  gangrenous,  and  are  the  beginning  point  for  the  seiJaration  of  the 
mortified  from  the  living  parts. 

5.  Dogs.—M..  Dieu  has  given  ergot  of  rye  to  dogs  in  the  dose  of  15  grams  (half  an 
ounce)  a  day.  The  animals  were  soou  taken  with  nausea,  bloody  diarrhea,  a  nasal 
discharge  also  colored  with  blood,  depression,  weakness,  and  soou  drop  into  a  fri'>^ht- 
fiil  marasmus.  The  experiments  not  having  been  pressed  to  the  end,  the  phenomena 
«f  dry  gangrene  could  not  be  observed. 

6.  Folds. — These  little  animals  are  most  exposed  to  the  poisoning  under  cousidera- 
tion,  because  they  often  receive  for  nourishment  the  residue  from  cleaning  i>-rain 
which  always  contains  more  or  less  ergot.  The  first  signs  of  thi.s  poisoniu"- are  loss 
of  liveliness,  indifference  to  surroundings,  ami  great  dullness;  then  there  is  verfii'o 
drooping  of  the  wings,  &c. ;  finally  appear  more  characteristic  signs — a  bloodv  dis- 
charge from  the  nostrils  is  seeu  ;  the  Crest  becomes  black,  shrunken,  and  luummilied  ; 
the  beak  dries  and  is  detached  ;  the  same  course  is  soon  followed  by  the  tongue;  the 
feathers  lose  their  luster  and  fall  out.  Death  results  soon  after  these  symptoms  are 
seen. 

To  recapitulate,  the  most  ordinary  sigus  of  ergotism  with  the  various  animals  are 
as  follows:  Dulness,  fixed  expression,  vertigo,  dilated  pupils,  intoxication,  coma  ; 
in  tlie  begiuuinguiuscular  tremblings,  then  convulsive  shocks,  tetanic  attacks,  par- 
ticularly in  the  posterior  members  whicli  afterward  become  weak  and  j)araly:':ed,  un- 
steady position  while  standing,  slow  and  ditticult  walk,  »fec.  ;  general  weakness,  pro- 
gressive emaciation  ;  pulse  slow  and  weak,  skin  cold  ;  hair  dull,  limbs,  ears,  horns 
and  tail  lose  their  natural  warmth  ;  sero-mucous  and  sometimes  bloody  discli;ir"'e 
from  the  nostrils,  cold  swelling  of  the  limits;  black  spots,  livid  patches,  gangrenous 
sores;  dry  gangrene  of  the  crest,  of  the  beak  and  of  tli(*  tongiu'  of  birds,  and  of  the 


52  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

ears,  the  tail,  the  phaUinges.  the  limbs,  which  become  detached  little  by  little  aud 
piece  by  piece  from  tlie  trunk  without  iuflammatiou  or  pain,  &c. 

Lesions. — The  digestive  tube  is  more  or  loss  iutensoly  irritated,  the  viscei'a  are  flabby 
and  softened,  the  muscles  semi-gelatinous,  the  blood  fluid,  violet  colored,  the  interior 
of  the  vessels  red  as  iu  putrid  diseases  &c. 

M.  Verheyen,  in  his  article  ou  ergotism  in  the  Nouveau  DicUonnaire 
pratique  de  Medicine,  de  Chirurgie  et  d'Hyf/iene  Veterinaires,  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  effects  of  this  poison: 

Symptomatolo!/!/. — In  spite  of  the  numerous  experimental  studies  of  which  the 
ergot  of  rye  has  been  the  object,  its  effects  ou  the  organism  are  far  from  being  suffi- 
ciently understood  to  enable  us  to  write  iu  a  complete  and  connected  manner  the 
part  of  the  medical  history  of  ergotism  relating  to  the  symptomatology  and  patholog- 
ical anatomy.  The  mode  of  action  of  ergot  on  the  economy  is  only  presented  so  far 
in  a  fragmentary  state;  the  acquired  knowledge  does  not  permit  the  tracing  of  a 
physiological  chart  of  all  the  phenomena  produced  by  this  agent.  A  large  nuinber  of 
experimenters,  particularly  among  the  modern  ones,  have  only  produced  an  acute 
intoxication,  of  rapid  pr3gress,  which  leaves  in  obscurity  the  evolution,  the  gradua- 
tion, and  the  succession  of  the  morbid  phenomena;  in  a  word  the  progress  of  natural 
ergotism  resulting  from  the  introduction  into  the  economy  of  small  but  long  continued 
doses  of  the  toxic  substance.  History  mentions  destructive  epidemics,  and  others 
which  have  been  relatively  mild;  this  difference  can  only  be  due  to  predisposition 
and  to  the  abundance  of  ergot.  Rye  is  rich  in  it  in  the  calami  tons  years ;  the  high  price 
of  cereals,  aud  of  all  kinds  of  provisions,  iirevents  the  poorer  classes  from  procuring 
sufficiently  nutritious  food.  There,  consequently,  follows  a  constitutional  debility 
and  anemia,  which  singularly  favors  gangrenous  and  convulsive  disorders.  The  obser- 
vation, so  precise,  of  M.  Decoste,  as  regards  the  hygienic  diet  to  which  the  cow,  Avhich 
was  the  subject  of  it,  had  been  submitted,  the  conditions  under  which  the  epizootic 
of  the  State  of  New  York  appeared,  proves  that  misery  constitutes  a  predisposing 
cause  not  less  energetic  for  animals  than  for  man.  The  experimenters  have  not  taken 
into  account  these  constitutional  modifications  which  increase  the  susceptibility  to 
the  poisonous  agent,  aud  give  to  ergotism  a  new  symptomatic  expressiou.  Here,  it 
appears  to  us,  is  found  the  key  to  the  numerous  contradictious  that  are  noticed  when 
the  experiments  are  compared  with  each  other.  To  cite  only  a  single  example  con- 
cerning the  bovine  species,  we  see  that  Riemanu  did  not  succeed  at  the  end  of  eight 
days  iu  provoking  the  least  abnormal  phenomenon,  and  that  Wahlin  produced  no 
other  noticeable  symptom  than  constipatiou  The  authors  who  have  observed  cases 
of  ergotism  with  auimals  during  the  course  of  an  epidemic  may  be  correct  when  they 
mention  the  fact  very  summarily,  and  limit  themselves  to  a  statement  that  the 
phenomena  were  absolutely  similar  to  those  presented  by  man.  This  identity  justi- 
fies, to  a  certain  extent,  their  laconisra,  aud  the  epidemic  conditions  explain  the 
differences  ol)tained  by  experimenting  during  the  epidemic  periods  and  out  of  these 
periods.  During  the  epidemics  the  rule  relative  to  the  gangrenous  form  iu  the  south 
and  the  convulsive  in  the  north  is  applicable  to  artificial  ergotism.  A  final  remark, 
perfectly  justified,  and  which  has  been  little  if  at  all  considered  by  the  experimenters: 
Tessier,  who  brought  a  high  order  of  intelligence  to  the  elucidation  of  the  history  of 
ergotism,  asserts  that  all  animals  show  a  very  great  repugnance  to  take  ergot  volun- 
tarily ;  this  is  so  insurmountable  for  some  individuals  that  they  will  die  of  hunger 
rather  thau  touch  it.  Conse<|ueutly  all  were  far  from  beiug  assured  that  the  ergot 
offered  was  really  consuuu'd. 

Having  made  these  obscu'vations,  let  us  take  up  (he  symptomatology  of  ergotism — 
they  will  excuse  the  incomplete  sketch  that  we  trace. 

These  morbid  i)heiu)mena  are  very  inconstant  during  the  period  of  invasiou.  Some- 
times they  indicate  a  lesion  of  the  cerebro-spinal  apparatus,  at  other  times  the  diges- 
tive tube  is  invaded,  at  still  other  times  the  symptoms  proceed  from  the  circulatory 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  53 

system.  This  variability  is  common  with  fowls,  with  lUgs,  .tiid  with  carnivora.  The 
predomiuance  of  the  cerebro-spiiial  aft'ectiou  mauifests  itselt  iu  various  dei'rees  of 
iutensity  ;  it  may  be  arrested  after  development  when  the  exciting  cause,  the  aliment- 
ary use  of  ergot  of  rye,  has  ceased.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  vertigo;  the  animals 
stumble  as  if  they  were  intoxicated;  they  lose  their  ecjuilibrium,  fall  on  the  side  and 
remain  in  a  slate  of  drowsiness,  which  is  not  dissipated  even  when  they  arise.  The 
hair  and  feathers  lose  their  luster;  the  temperature  of  the  skin  is  lowered  •  there  is 
antesthesia,  the  insensibility  following  a  condition  of  hypcriesthesia  ;  this  alterna- 
tion afiects  also  the  sight  and  the  hearing  (Wright).  It  is  unmistakable  in  the  canine 
species ;  the  pupils  are  constantly  dilated.  The  symptoms  of  narcotism  that  we  have 
just  enumerated  persist  or  are  interrupted  by  convulsive  i)henomena,  sometimes  of 
the  limbs  only,  and  sometimes  of  the  whole  body.  The  general  convulsions  are  char- 
acterized by  tetanic  epileptic  attacks  usually  followed  by  temporary  paralysis  of  the 
posterior  parts.  The  suffering  is  sometimes  so  intense  that  it  is  manifested  by  plaintive 
cries  and  contortions.  The  nervous  attack  over,  the  animal  falls  again  into  a  condition 
of  apathy  or  drowsiness.  If  the  spasm  is  limited  to  the  limbs,  there  remains  after  the 
attack  a  contraction  which  persists  for  a  certain  length  of  time. 

These  phenomena  which  characterize  spasmodic  ergotism  have  an  indefinite  dura- 
tion. Death  may  occur  after  a  few  hours  or  a  few  days  as  a  result  of  a  paroxysm, 
or  the  disease  may  be  more  prolonged  and  take  a  chronic  form.  The  nutrition  suf- 
fers; the  animals  become  thin  in  spite  of  the  appetite,  which,  however,  is  irregular, 
and  finally  a  convulsion  at  last  destroys  them  in  an  advanced  condition  of  marasuius- 
The  circulation  is  abnormal,  the  pulse  is  slow,  accelerated  but  afterwards  retarded; 
the  arterial  and  cardiac  contractions  are  spasmodic. 

The  i)articipation  of  the  digestive  tube,  which  may  be  either  the  principal  or  the 
accessory  cause  of  the  cerebro-spinal  affection,  is  announced  by  nausea,  pharyngial 
spasms,  vomiting,  diarrhea,  sometimes  followed  by  an  insatiable  hunger.  If  this  is 
satisfied  the  food  does  not  alleviate  the  hunger,  for  it  causes  convulsions.  In  the 
south  all  these  symptoms  may  be  preceded  by  gangrenous  accidents  ;  the  latter  may 
also  precede  when  the  circulatory  lesion  is  the  first  to  occur.  With  the  galliuaceans 
the  crest  becomes  cold,  takes  a  violet  or  black  color,  shrivels, and  dries;  these  phe- 
nomena are  also  quite  constant  in  the  north,  but  the  dessication  of  the  beak,  some- 
times of  the  feet,  constitutes  an  alteration  exclusive  to  the  south  ;  gangrenous  i»atches 
also  cover  the  abdominal  walls  (Millet).  In  gangrenous  ergotism  of  the  palmipeds, 
besides  the  beak,  there  is  sometimes  seen  mortification  of  the  point  of  the  tongue 
(Tessier),  and  of  the  iuterdigital  membrane  which  is  discolored  and  becomes  dry  and 
brittle;  then  the  digits  are  lost  (Decoste).  With  mammals  the  gangrene  attacks  the 
lower  part  of  one  or  several  limbs,  the  ears  or  the  tail;  these  parts  become  red  as  if 
they  were  the  seat  of  an  erysipelatous  infiammation  ;  the  color  changes  to  violet,  to 
blue,  or  to  black  ;  they  become  mummified  and  detached  when  the  convulsive  pjir- 
oxysm  has  not  destroyed  life  before  the  completion  i)f  the  work  of  elimination.  While 
this  is  occurring  the  loss  of  flesh  progresses  and  marasmus  comes  on,  then,  finally,  a 
convulsive  movement  which  destroys  the  patient.  The  munnniflcatiou  also  attacks 
isolated  muscles  and  iu  very  exceptional  cases  the  dry  form  of  gangrene  is  associated 
with  the  humid  form  (Tessier).  The  pulse  remains  small,  feeble,  slow,  or  indeed  it 
becomes  accelerated,  fel)rile,  and  precipitates  marasnnis. 

Sheep  which  are  subject  to  convulsive  ergotism,  are  probably  also  subject  to  the 
gangrenous  form.  We  have  abstained  from  considering  it  iu  the  symptomatology  be- 
cause we  have  not  met  with  documents  which  authorize  us  to  generalize  the  symp- 
toms and  to  extend  them  to  the  ovine  species. 

The  gangrenous  form  is  the  only  one  which  has  been  observed  with  the  bovine 

species;  it  remains  local  and  is  not  complicated  with  the  greater  part  of  the  general 

symptoms  which  may  precede  it  with  the  other  species  of  the  domestic  animals  that 

have  just  been  referred  to.     The  appetite   is  preserved,  the  muzzle  remains  moist, 

nd  the  expression  of  the  eye  is  not  changed.     These  signs  of  health  often  remain 


64  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

until  the  fatal  terinination  of  tbe  disease.  The  circnlatory  lesion  seems  then  to  be 
alone  in  play ;  it  is  localized  in  the  digital  region  of  the  posterior  limbs  (Randill), 
or  extends  to  the  metacarpal  and  metatarsal  regions  of  the  limbs  of  one  side  (De- 
coste).  A  slight  swelling  of  these  parts  announces  the  beginning.  The  hair  becomes 
dull,  the  skiu  is  dried,  hardened,  and  mummified  as  well  as  the  parts  immediately 
beneath  it.  The  appetite  is  pi'eserved,  but  the  animals  become  thin;  a  few  individ- 
uals take  flesh  after  the  loss  of  the  gangrenous  limbs  and  may  be  prepared  for  the 
butcher.  Death  in  a  condition  of  marasmus  is  the  most  common  result.  When  the 
aflectiou  takes  a  relatively  benign  form  the  gangrene  does  not  destroy  the  part;  the 
digital  region  loses  its  elasticity,  the  points  of  the  toes  are  elevated,  grow  to  an  un- 
usual length,  and  the  weight  is  supported  on  the  back  of  the  fetlock.  In  this  situa- 
tion the  animals  pass  a  miserable  existence  until  the  owner,  from  pity,  sends  them  to 
the  butcher  (Randall).  The  more  benign  form  seems  to  ns  to  have  a  resemblance  to 
convulsive  ergotism;  the  position  of  the  posterior  limbs  has  perhaps  for  its  orign  a 
contraction  of  the  extensors. 

In  the  records  of  epidemics  of  ergotism  there  are  found  but  few  references  to 
the  disease  in  the  horse,  and  these  are  of  no  use  in  tracing  the  symptomatology. 
We  are  then  reduced  to  a  recapitulation  of  experiments  to  the  number  of  two,  one 
made  by  Hertwig  and  the  other  by  Parola. 

Hertwig  administered  to  a  horse  within  twenty-four  days  3,552  grams  [about  7 
pounds]  of  ergot  of  rye.  The  phenomena  observed  were  slight  colics,  loss  of  appetite, 
which  disappeared  within  a  few  hours,  drowsiness,  which  also  soon  passed  away,  di- 
lation of  the  pupils,  slight  spasmodic  contractions  of  the  nuiscles  of  the  skin  and 
diminished  temperature  of  the  surface  of  the  body  The  pulsations  of  the  arteries 
were  retarded  from  40  to  28  to  the  minute.  The  day  following  the  administration  of 
the  last  dose  all  abnoriual  i)henomena  had  disappeared. 

Parola  experimented  on  a  vigorous  and  lively  mule  afiected  with  a  nasal  discharge. 
During  six  days  he  gave  it,  in  addition  to  its  ordinary  ration,  ergot  of  rye  in  progres- 
sive doses  of  from  20  to  64  grams  [J  to  2  ounces]  a  day.  The  first  day,  the  pulse  w^as 
from  56  to  58,  with  lowering  of  the  external  temperature.  The  second  day,  pulse  58, 
respiration  difficult,  tearful  eyes,  loss  of  appetite,  dullness,  beating  of  heart  insensi- 
ble. The  third  day,  coldness  of  the  skin,  general  tremors,  difficult  respiration,  spas- 
modic trouble  of  the  cardiac  and  arterial  pulsations,  absence  of  appetite,  apathy, 
dullness,  suppression  of  the  nasal  discharge,  which  returned  after  the  use  of  irritating 
injections.  From  the  fourth  to  the  seventh  day,  development  of  these  symptoms,  un- 
steady and  difficult  walk,  trembling,  inclined  to  lie,  painfnl  swelling  of  the  knees, 
the  nasal  discharge  definitely  arrested.  After  having  taken  iu  all  284  grams  [0.6 
pounds]  of  ergot,  the  mule,  which  had  continually  lost  in  flesh  and  liveliness,  became 
insensible  and  was  destroyed. 

It  maybe  concluded  from  these  facts  that  the  horse  escapes  the  pern  icious  effects  of 
ergot  no  more  than  other  animals,  and  that,  placed  under  favorable  conditions,  one  of 
the  two  forms  of  the  disease  may  be  clearly  manifested,  as  the  result  of  long  and  con- 
tinued use.  Ergot  is  also  a  poison  for  insects  ;  in  Poland  they  kill  flies  by  giving  as 
a  bait  powder  of  ergot  mixed  with  honey.  Leeches,  plunged  into  an  infnsion  of  ergot, 
perish  instantly  (Loriuser). 

Anatomical  characiers. — Studied  for  centuries,  ergotism  presents,  in  regard  to  its  patho- 
logical anatomy,  lamentable  deficiencies  as  well  with  juankind  as  with  animals.  Con- 
sidering the  variation  of  symptoms  it  is  useless  to  insist  that  the  anatomical  lesions 
cannot  in  all  cases  be  the  same.  Those  which  we  are  about  to  enumerate  all  belong 
to  either  artificial  or  experimental  ergotism. 

The  rigor  mortis  is  never  excessive ;  the  flabby  muscles  are  softened,  the  bones  en- 
gorged with  blood,  particularly  near  the  articulations.  The  venous  system  is  dis- 
tended by  a  black,  pitchy,  semi-fluid  blood;  the  arteries,  sometimes  empty,  contain 
in  other  circumstances  a  red  fluid  Idood.  In  the  thoracic  cavity  the  lungs  are  found 
hepatized  in  the  posterior  portion;  the  heart  flabby,  small  or  voluminous,  contains 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  55 

fibrous  coagula  ami  a  black,  viscid,  semi-fluid  blood  ;  in  the  left  side  of  the  heart, 
which  is  often  empty,  there  is  nothing  found  but  fibrinous  concretions.  The  mucous 
membrane  of  the  small  intestine  is  pale,  yellowish,  infiltrated,  and  softened^  some- 
times covered  with  red  stri;e  or  black  points.  These  black  points  are  compounds  of 
fat  and  pigment  (T.  O.  Heusinger).  The  mucous  membrane  of  the  large  intestine 
shows  hypera'mia,  which  is  far  from  being  constant.  The  proventriculus  of  the  gal- 
linaceans  has  a  gray  or  a  wine-red  appearance  ;  its  mucous  membrane  is  ulcerated  or 
covered  with  granulations;  the  gizzard  is  black, (Millet).  Do  not  the  granulations 
depend  upon  the  ulceratiou  of  the  pepsine  glands?  The  cerebral  envelopes,  princi- 
pally at  the  base,  are  congested,  engorged  with  a  black  blood  resembling  that  found 
in  the  veins;  a  section  of  the  brain  shows  sometimes  a  very  apparent  ])unctation  ;  iu 
other  cases,  much  more  common,  it  is  ana-mic.  Analagous  changes  are  met  with  in 
the  spinal  cord. 

The  local  disorders  of  gangrenous  ergotism  are  those  of  dry  gangrene  (see  (?aH- 
greue). 

Physiological  action. —  The  symptoms  of  gangrenous  or  convulsive  ergotism,  as  a 
whole,  indicate  incontestably  that  the  nervous  system  fills  the  principal  role.  The 
phenomena  observed  by  Hoppe  when  he  placed  ergotiue  in  contact  with  the  isolated 
organs  of  the  frog  or  the  rabbit  would  remove  all  doubt  if  any  could  exist.  Ergotine 
causes  a  marked  stimulation  of  the  heart,  followed  by  a  weakening  and  a  retardation 
of  its  movements;  the  intestine  contracts,  but  the  contraction  is  not  renewed  after  a 
second  application;  the  blood  vessels  dilate;  soon  follows  a  contraction  with  conges- 
tion of  the  rasa  vasorum  which  swell  and  cause  the  walls  of  the  veins  and  arteries  to 
become  rigid  ;  the  sensitive  nerves  are  partially  paralyzed  ;  later  their  sensibility  is 
increased;  a  general  intoxication  congests  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  This  last  eflfect 
is  not  constant ;  the  autopsies  show  that  though  the  envelojies  of  the  cerebro-spinal 
axis  are  always  congested,  wholly  or  iu  part,  the  nervous  centers  themselves  are  quite 
©ften  auii-mic.         ,    . 

It  follows  from  these  results  which  are  conformable  to  what  is  observed  in  ergotism 
that  the  primitive  phenomena  depend  upon  a  sedation  of  the  sensory  nervous  system, 
and  this  ana'sthesia  issucceeded  by  a  hypera>sthesia  and  a  retardation  of  the  circula- 
tion. The  exaltation  of  the  sensibility  has  not  always  the  same  seat ;  this  circum- 
stance explains  the  variations  of  the  symptoms  and  the  predominant  lesions  of  a  func- 
tional apparatus.  In  all  cases  the  hypenesthesia  excites  reflex  action,  sometimes  in 
the  intestinal  tube  (colic,  vomiting,  and  diarrhea);  at  other  times  in  the  voluntary 
muscles  (contractions  and  convul,>-ions) ;  at  still  other  times  in  the  involuntary  mus- 
cles of  the  vessels  (gangrene).  These  reflex  actions  may  be  successive,  simultaneous, 
■or  they  are  developed  separately  and  remain  separated  during  the  whoh^  course  of  the 
disease.  With  man,  who  can  give  an  account  of  his  subjective  sensations,  intense 
pain  precedes  the  contraction  ;  then  follows,  according  to  the  intensity  of  the  disease, 
convulsions  varying  from  trembling  to  epileptic  attacks.  The  overstimulation  leads 
to  exhaustion,  which  brings  a  calm  in  the  sensitive  system.  Intolerable  pains,  which 
are  more  localized,  also  precede  thci  dry  gangrene  ;  the  patient  feels  in  the  pait  which 
becomes  the  seat  of  it  a  cold  sensation  ;  later,  this  is  recognized  by  the  thermometer 
and  to  the  patient  it  seems  glacial ;  the  sensation  islosi  when  the  gangrenous  eftect  is 
accomplished.  The  dilatation  of  the  vessels,  followed  by  a  narrowing  of  their  channels 
are  phenomena  which  are  connected  with  primitive  ana'sthesia,  a  secondary  hyper- 
icthesia,  and  with  reflex  action,  which  aifect  the  vaao-motor  nerves.  The  rigidity  and 
congestion  of  the  vascular  tubes,  the  weakening  of  the  contraction  of  the  heart,  re- 
lard  the  circulation  in  the  extremities,  favor  the  stagnation  of  the  blood,  and  conse- 
quently necrosis,  even  if  the  reflex  phenomena  are  not  sufliciently  intense  to  obliter- 
ate the  channel  of  the  art'erent  vessel  and  pioduce  mortification  by  ana-mia.  What 
is  produced  iu  an  intense  manner  at  one  or  several  extremities  is  rei)eat('(l  at  all  the 
perii)hery  in  gangrenous  and  convulsive  ergotism;  the  lowering  of  the  temperature 
lias  no  other  cause  than  the  retardation  of  the  circulation  and  the  reflex  musctilar 


56  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

spasm.  The  cerebral  plienomena  are  probably  only  secoiidarj-  and  are  due  to  the  con- 
geatiou  of  tlae  brain  and  its  envelopes  ;  the  aua-niia  of  this  organ  wonld  also  account 
for  them.  It  is  a  law  that  local  congestions  go  side  b}^  side  with  local  autemia  ;  when 
ergotism  becomes  chronic,  the  anaMiua  is  generalized,  a  common  result  in  all  diseases 
which  are  of  long  duration.  The  absence  of  exudations  removes  all  idea  of  inflam- 
mation, and  if  hepatization  of  the  posterior  lobes  of  the  lungs  has  been  fonnd,  par- 
ticularly with  the  gallinaceaus,  this  lesion  is  neither  constant  nor  general. 

The  uKMliiim  dose  of  this  agent  for  medicinal  purposes  is  given  by 
Tabourin  {Nouveau  Traite  de  Nat.  Med.,  etc.,  II,  j).  447)  as  follows:  Cat- 
tle and  horses,  one-half  to  one  ounce  (16  to  32  grams);  goats,  sheep^ 
and  pigs,  one  to  two  drachms  (4  to  8  grams)  •  dogs  and  cats,  one-half 
to  one  drachm  (2  to  4  grams).  Finley  Dan  says:  A.s  a  parturient  or 
styptic,  for  the  mare  or  cow,  one-half  to  one  ounce;  for  sheep,  swine^ 
and  bitches,  about  one  drachm  (Yet.  Medicine,  f).  212). 

HISTORY   OF   ERGOTISM. 

Wood  states  that  epidemics  of  ergotism  or  chronic  ergotic  poisoning  have  been 
recorded  from  time  to  time  since  the  days  of  Galen  [130  to  200,  A.  D.]  and  of  Ca'sar 
[B.  C,  100  to  44].  (Therap.  Mat.  Med.  and  Tox.,  4th  ed.,  p.  5(i.5.)  There  is  much 
reason  for  doubt,  however,  in  regard  to  the  diagnosis  of  cases  occnrring  before  the 
tenth  century. 

Yerheyen  says  that,  "From  the  ninth  to  the  thirteenth  centuries  several  grave  epi- 
demics appeared  in  France.  The  first  chroniclers  who  made  mention  of  them,  faithful 
to  their  traditional  habit,  confounded  them  under  the  generic  denomination  of  plague 
{pcste).  In  the  tenth  century  these  epidemics  received  a  special  name ;  they  were  called 
ignis  saver,  arsura,  claudes  sen  pestis  igiiiaria.  In  the  twelfth  century  the  nomenclature 
was  increased  with  the  terms  ignis  sancti  Antonii,  aaneti  Martialis,  Beaia'  Virginis,  ignis 
inrisibilis,  sen  infernaUs.  All  these  expressions  were  used  to  designate  one  and  the 
same  affection,  which  was  no  other  than  ergotism. 

The  learned  historian  of  the  epidemics  oi  feu  sacre  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Professor 
Fuchs  (Das  heilige  Feuer  im  Mittelalter,  Berlin,  1834),  fixes  the  first  invasion  in  the  year 
857.  This  explicit  passage  of  the  chronicle  leaves  no  doubt  in  this  regard.  Plaga 
magna  vesicarum  iurgentium  grassatur  in  popnlo  et  detesfahili  eos  putredine  consumsif,  iia 
ut  membra  dissohda  ante  mortem  dedderunt.  (Pertz,  11,  230.)  The  epidemic  of  590 
(Greg.  Tur.,  X,  30)  that  some  authors  refer  to  the  feu  sacre,  does  not  appear  to  us  to 
have  presented  the  characters  of  this.  Its  course  was  extraordinarily  rapid;  it  began 
with  a  slight  headache,  a  forerunner  of  death  (ita  ut  modico  quisquis  a'grotus  capitis 
dotore,  pulsatus,  animam  funderet).  These  morbid  chai-acters  can  no  more  he  consid- 
ered ergotism  than  the  very  vague  statement  that  near  Limoges  several  were  con- 
sumed by  the  feu  celeste  with  which  some  were  burned  in  Tourraine  {nonnulli  ab  hoc 
igne  sunt  adusti).  At  the  same  time  a  very  fatal  epizootic  occurred  which  did  not  spare 
the  deer.  A  great  drought  had  destroyed  the  herbage  ;  it  followed  rains  and  inunda- 
tions, conditions  favorable  to  the  evolution  of  charbonnons  diseases.  A  fact  support- 
ing this  view,  as  well  as  the  opinion  of  Fuchs,  is  that  rye,  which  is  an  Asiatic  plant, 
was  only  introduced  into  cultivation  during  the  Middle  Ages  (Link).  Admitting, 
what  is  supposed,  that  Europe  is  indebted  for  it  to  the  invasion  of  the  Huns,  it  is  still 
A'ery  necessary  to  take  into  iiccouut  the  condition  of  this  part  of  the  world  before 
concluding  that  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  the  new  cereal  had  become  generalized 
and  had  entered  into  the  regular  agricultural  rotation  of  Gaul. 

All  the  epidemics  of  feu  sacre  correspond  to  years  which  were  characterized  by  a 
rigorous  winter  followed  by  a  very  rainy  summer,  causing  a  deficiency  in  the  harvests, 
and  bringing  scarcity  and  fanune.  The  »q)idcmics  beg.au  about  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber or  Octolier  and  terminated  in  the  spring,  unless  the  atmospheric  condition  of  the 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  57 

followiiif^year  continued  to  be  fatal  to  the  products  of  the  earth.  No  mention  is  made 
of  great  epidemics  oi feu  sacre' during  years  which  were  characterized  by  productive- 
ness, but  local  epidemics  are  met  with  which  were  circumscribed  within  the  limits 
where  the  center  of  ergotism  still  exists  in  our  days,  and  which  comprises  /?  Sologne, 
le  Daiiphine,  le  Lyonnaise,  la  Lorraine,  and  VArtois. 

If  we  take  into  account  the  conditions  which  concur  in  the  evolution  of  fvu  sacre,  it 
may  be  established,  rt^no?/,  that  the  sanitary  state  of  the  domestic  animals  was  not 
more  favorable  than  that  of  the  huiuan  species,  and  that  epizootics  should  have  been 
more  fre<[uent  thau  they  are  mentioned  by  tlie  chroniclers.  Are  indications  found  in 
their  annals  which  authorize  us  to  attribute  these  epizootics  to  the  same  source,  that 
is,  to  the  feu  sacre?  This  question  cannot  be  solved;  more  than  that,  the  accounts 
them.selves  forbid  an  hypothesis  relative  to  the  form  and  nature  of  simultaneous  dis- 
eases. It  is  sufficient  to  cite  this  passage  from  the  chronicle  of  St.  Bavon,  referring 
to  the  year  1127  :  I'laga  diriua  Franckini  effliqit,  ignis  scilicet  corpora  crucians.  Ptslilen- 
tia  maxima  facta  est  (tnimalium.  What  was  this  jilague  of  animals?  Formulated  in 
this  manner  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture.  If  in  the  presence  of  such  profound  ob- 
scurities we  are  permitted  to  hazard  an  opinion,  we  would  say  that  in  all  probability 
the  food  of  the  animals  did  uot  consist  of  rye  in  these  calamitous  years  wheu  scarcity 
and  famine  were  general,  and  when  the  cause  of  feu  sacre  was  unknown.  Eemoved 
from  the  toxic  factor,  they  did  not  escape  its  powerful  accessories,  and  the  diseases 
which  decimated  the  herds  must  have  been  other  than  ergotism.*  Perhaps- the  first 
epidemic  of  feu  swcrt' which  ravaged  Portugal  in  1189  was  an  exce])tion,  and  it  may  be 
necessary  to  attribute  the  concomitant  epizootic  to  ergotism.  It  is  thus  described: 
Hujus  etiom  tempore  morln  nunquam,  ante,  visi  ingruebant,  ferventissimis  intra  riscera  ar- 
doribus,  qnibus  homines  quasi  quadain  rabie  exagitabantur.  Exoria  etiam  fames,  fnigibus 
1am  ri  tempestatis,  quam  rer7ninibun  corruptis,  et  lues  non  minus  noeens  pecori  quamhomini- 
hus  et  multorum  relictw  racua- possessionibus  (C.  F.  Heusinger,  Fuchs). 

Tlie  uncertainty  relative  to  the  form  and  nature  of  the  epizootics  is  one  of  the  most 
common  facts  in  the  records  of  the  Middle  Age.  Thus  the  beginning  of  the  famous 
black  plague  in  1347  was  preceded  in  several  countries  by  epizootics  no  less  fatal. 
In  primis  luvc  acerba  pestis  in  brutis  animaUbus  incohavit ;  scabies  et  lepra:  totaliter  ap- 
priviebant  equos,  botes,  pecudes,  et  cajyras  ;  ita  ut  pili  de  dorsiipsorumdepilabantur  et  eade- 
bant  et  effieiebaniur  macri  et  debiles,  et  post  paucos  dies  moriebantur.  Deinde  incipit  hwc 
rabiosa  jjcs^is  2)er  nniversum  munduni  discurrendo  in  iniserabiles  homines  letiialiter  sa'rire 
(Cutteis).  This  passage  evidently  refers  to  a  gangrenous  affection,  which  has  noth- 
ing in  common  with  feu  sacre,  for  with  the  exception  of  the  epidemic  of  Brittany, 
which  occurred  at  the  beginning  of  the  black  plague,  no  tiaccs  of  ergotism  are  found 
until  V^7'^,  when  it  appeared  anew  in  France  (Tessier). 

During  the  whole  period  of  the  Middle  Age  l)ut  rare  epidemics  of  feu  sac  ir  uro  men- 
tioned in  tile  north  of  Europe.  Heusinger  believes  that  those  of  the  tifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries,  designated  l)y  the  name  of  scorbutus,  belonged  to  ergotism.  This 
opinion  appears  to  us  to  have  foundation;  in  fact  the  celebrated  botanist,  DodonaMis, 
described  the  epidemic  of  scorbutus,  which  occurred  in  Belgium  in  1556,  and  was 
characterized  by  gangrene  of  various  parts  of  the  body.  Ho  attributed  it  to  the 
spoiled  grain  which  was  imported  from  Prussia,  and  says  in  another  work  (Historia 
frnmentorum,  Anto.,  1569),  that  bread  made  from  spoiled  rye  (seigle  altere)  causes  the 
disease  called  by  the  Germans  scorbutus.  The  giingrenous  form  of  this  allection, 
which  did  not  conform  exactly  to  that  observed  in  France  and  Spain,  was  replaced 
in  the  course  of  the  sixteenth  century  by  the  convulsive  form.  When  the  epidemics 
of  ergotism  of  the  South  and  those  of  the  North  of  Europe  are  compared  a  very  re- 
markable, fact  j)r(!sents  itself;  in  the  South  tlu^  gangrenous  form  is  the  rule  ;  a  few  of 
theepidemics  were  complicated  l)y  muscular  contractions (co/i^fY/c^MVN);  in  the  North, 

*  The  author  appears  to  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  such  a  disease  might  have 
been  produced  by  ergotized  grasses. — D.  E.  S. 


58  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

oil  the  contrary,  dry  gaugreue  wa.s  a  raitlior  rare  affection.  Tliis  pbenomeuon  is  ap- 
plicable to  animals  with  which  ergotism  has  been  observed  during  the  continuance 
of  an  epidemic  as  well  as  with  those  experimented  upon.  Fowls  are  the  only  excep- 
tion, and  with  these  gangrene  of  the  comb  is  an  almost  constant  result.  Do  the  prop- 
erties of  ergot  of  rye  differ  in  the  north  and  in  the  south?  Chemical  analyses  may, 
perhaps,  inform  us;  in  waiting  for  these  we  may  admit  that  the  phenomena  are  not 
dependent  upon  the  dose.  In  1840,  after  threshing,  ergot  made  up  half  the  harvest 
of  Finland.  The  epidemic  showed  itself  as  acute  febrile,  convulsive  ergotism.  Death 
very  often  occurred  within  forty-eight  hours  (Haartman). 

Datiug  from  the  seventeenth  century  observers  were  more  attentive  to  the  phenom- 
ena presented  by  animals  during  the  epidemics  of  ergotism,  but  they  notice  the  fact 
with  a  briefness  which  cannot  satisfy  the  science  of  pathology,  because  the  proper  ele- 
ments are  not  furnished  for  letracing  the  medical  history.  Bruuner,  the  recorder  of  the 
epidemic  of  1694,  in  le  Harz,  limits  himself  to  this  phrase :  Novi  pecorn,  armenta,  sues, 
equos,  aiinercs  qiioque  )ion  fui-sse  a  contagione  immunia.  In  spite  of  the  contagion  which 
lie  admits,  Bruuner  leaves  nothing  eiiuivocal  in  regard  to  the  cause,  for  he  says  :  De- 
generavit  quoqiie  secaJe  et  loco  (jranonim  alimentariorum  prolrmit  conmtda  nigra.  The 
quoqne  relates  to  oats  which  had  equally  undergone  degeneration,  the  characters  of 
■which  are  not  indicated;  its  meal  produced  vertigo  in  the  persons  who  consumed  it. 
It  would  have  been  interesting  to  indicate  the  effect  produced  in  horses,  but  the  au- 
thor maintains  au  absolute  silence  in  regard  to  this.  Though  distinguished  botanists 
affirm  that  the  oat  is  subject  to  ergot,  we  must  admit  that  our  researches  to  discover  a 
fact  where  the  injurious  properties  of  ergoted  oats  have  been  noticed  with  auiiaals 
have  remained  without  success. 

In  the  description  of  the  epidemic  in  Silesia  in  1722,  we  read  that  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia ordered  an  exchange  for  sound  rye  of  that  affected  with  ergot,  which,  as  usual, 
caused  sickness  of  the  horses  and  hogs  (Hecker).  Convulsive  ergotism  reappeared  in 
Silesia  and  Bohemia  in  1736.  Antoiue  Soring,  the  historian,  makes  the  remark  that 
it  is  known  and  demonstrated  by  experiment  that  ergoted  rye  produces  disease  with 
fowls  and  mammals,  and  that  when  animals  suffer  during  the  epidemics  of  ergotism 
it  is  conclusive  of  the  quantity  and  violent  action  of  the  ergot  in  the  rye. 

From  176,0  to  1769  ergot  was  very  abundant  in  Sweden  in  the  rye  and  barley.  The 
epidemics  which  followed  were  attributed  by  Liunieus  to  the  grain  of  the  Raphanus 
raphanistrum,  from  which  is  derived  the  name  Raphania,  which  in  Scandauavia  is  still 
given  to  convulsive  ergotism.  Wahlin,  after  having  experimentally  demonstrated  the 
^nocuousness  of  the  seeds  of  Raphanus,  observes  that  there  is  no  reason  for  not  ac- 
cusing ergot  when,  in  the  course  of  an  epidemic,  domestic  animals  such  as  fowls  and 
hogs  present  similar  symptoms  to  what  are  seen  in  man.  This  passage  tends  to  prove 
not  only  that  the  domestic  animals  contract  convulsive  ergotism,  but  also  that  the 
■ergot  of  barley  is  as  dangerous  as  that  of  rye.  This  is,  besides,  confirmed  by  Retzius 
when  ho  asserts  that  beer  brewed  with  ergoted  barley  becomes  a  cause  of  convulsive 
ergotism  for  those  who  consume  it.  In  Hesse,  it  has  been  often  observed,  notably  in 
1770,  that  the  heads  of  barley  contained  as  many,  if  not  more,  long,  black  grains  as 
the  rye.     In  our  times  (1856)  this  same  remark  has  been  made  by  T.  O.  Heusinger. 

Traube,  who  left, a  much  esteemed  description  of  the  epidemic  of  1770,  which  was 
very  extensive  in  Hanover,  says  that  so  far  as  he  was  able  to  observe  the  facts  for 
himself,  he  saw  in  the  circle  which  he  traversed  a  single  pig  attacked  with  convul- 
sive ergotism.  Horses  eating  the  ergoted  bread  were  not  incommoded;  boviue  ani- 
mals consumed  the  Hour  with  repuguance,  but  also  without  inconvenience.  Dogs 
and  sheep  were  not  affected,  with  the  exception  of  the  little  village  of  Lohe,  where 
7  sheep  succumbed  after  presenting  the  phenomena  of  the  convulsive  disease.  These 
animals  had  ])astured  on  the  rye  fields  after  the  harvest,  which  was  made  in  a  very 
dry  time,  when  an  abundance  was  lost  by  shelling.  Traube  did  not  discover  a  single 
case  of  abortion  which  Soring  and  others  thought  they  observed  with  hogs.  One 
fact  impressed  hi:n:  traveling  through  the  villages  which  still  contained  the  suffer- 


1 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  59 

«r8,  the  following  spring,  he  heard  general  complaints  in  regard  to  thi;  small  number 
of  the  young  fowls.  But  few  eggs  were  produced,  and  the  hens  did  not  sit.  Nothing 
of  the  kind  occurred  in  the  villages  which  had  been  exempt  from  ergotism.  Two 
fowls  were  sent  him  which  presented  the  spasmodic  symptoms;  these  birds,  placed 
upon  their  feet,  fell  to  oue  side,  allowed  the  head  to  hang,  and  agitated  the  limb?. 
When  they  arose  of  themselves  the  phalanges  were  contracted  spasmodically;  they 
lived  four  weeks;  no  autopsy  was  made  (Geschichte  der  Eriebelkrankheit,  1782,  pp. 
13  and  15). 

It  is  seen  that  in  these  epidemics  the  couvnlsive  form  predominates,  while  in  France 
the  gangrenous  form  is  almost  exclusive.  The  last  exteusive  epidemic  from  which 
this  country  suti'ered  occurred  in  1750,  and  the  ravages  at  this  time  recalled  those  of 
the  Middle  Ag^.  It  commenced  in  Sologne,  Us  traditional  center,  and  extended 
through  Landes,  Flanders,  and  Artois.  The  ergot  formed  a  third  of  the  threshed  rye  ; 
animals  which  were  fed  upon  it  contracted  the  same  gangrenous  accidents  as  man 
(Salerne). 

Toward  the  last  third  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  epidemics  of  ergotism  were 
no  longer  so  frequent;  the  perfection  of  agriculture  may  claim  a  part  in  this  happy 
result,  but  the  greater  part  is  iucontestably  due  to  the  generalization  of  the  culture 
of  the  potato  in  the  North  and  of  maize  in  the  South.  In  spite  of  these  alimentary 
guarantees  ergotism  was  not  extinguished.  In  the  present  century  it  was  mentioned 
by  Ccnrhaut  and  Bordot,  in  1855;  Barrier  observed  the  gangrenous  form  in  the  de- 
partments of  Isere,  Loire,  Haute-Loire,  Ardeche,  and  Rhone.  Ergotism  has  reap- 
peared in  Russia,  Finland,  Sweden,  and  some  cantons  of  Germany.  In  the  epidemic 
described  by  Wagner  (1831)  the  hogs  which  ate  ergoted  rye  presented  the  same  symp- 
toms of  the  disease  as  the  human  species,  and  Helm  saw  in  Pomerania  12  hogs  whicli, 
a  few  hours  after  having  consu:ned  a  ration  of  rye  mixed  with  ergot,  were  taken  with 
vertigo  and  convulsions.  They  moaned  and  uttered  anxious  cries  ;  the  posterior  parts 
■were  paralyzed,  and  the  animals  manifested  their  sutferings  by  singular  contortions 
The  last  epidemic  occni-red  in  18.55;  it  appeared  in  Hesse,  and  concurred  with  that 
mentioned  in  France  by  Barrier. 

A  peculiarity  worthy  of  remark  was  connected  with  the  Hessian  epidemic ;  the 
younger  Heusioger,  who  recorded  it,  says  that  his  father,  professor  at  the  University  of 
Narbourg,  who  was  charged  by  the  Government  to  examine  the  harvests  of  the  year, 
accomplished  his  mission  before  the  threshing.  In  the  sheaves  of  the  cereal  he  found 
a  large  quantity  of  Broniiis  secaliniis  [common  chess  or  cheat]  rich  in  ergot,  though 
the  heads  of  the  rye  were  exempt  from  it ;  and  as  this  ergot  presents  all  the  physical 
characters  belonging  to  that  of  rj^e,  it  be-;omes  certain  that  this  cereal  is  not  always 
to  be  blamed  as  much  as  has  been  generally  believed.  Rye  harvested  on  lands  badly 
cultivated  was  infested  with  Bromus ;  wlien  properly  cultivated  but  little  was  pro- 
duced. This  fact  demonstrates  the  great  induence  of  agricultural  progress  on  the 
extension  of  ergotism  and  its  cause.  In  countries  where  agriculture  is  in  an  ailvanced 
condition,  as  in  Belgium,  ergotism,  either  in  the  gangrenous  or  convulsive  form,  is 
unknown.  The  oljservation  of  Heusinger  is  not  the  only  one;  in  two  communes  of 
the  principality  of  Waldeck  the  ergot  of  chess  also  caused  an  epidemic  (R(erig). 

This  fact  is  not  without  interest  for  the  veterinarian,  since  straw  makes  up  part  of 
the  food  of  the  domesticated  herbivora,  and  the  plants  mixed  ill  the  sheaves,  with  the 
nature  of  their  productions,  merits  more  attention  than  is  generally  bestowed  upon 
it.  During  the  continuance  of  the  epidemic  in  Hesse,  T.  O.  Heusinger  collected  in- 
fonnation  in  regard  to  the  diseases  which  affected  domestic  animals.  He  learned  that 
in  the  commune  of  Roda,  where  the  most  peoiile  suti'ered,  and  where  convulsive 
ergotism  was  most  violent,  the  sheep  presented  sym])toms  which  conld  be  referred 
to  poisoning  by  ergot  with  the  mort;  reason  as  these  animals  were  fed  with  rye  straw 
and  received  the  screenings  of  the  grain.  The  inhabitants  complained  of  the  great 
mortality  among  the  sheeji ;  the  shei)herds  reiiorted  that  several  had  jumjted  the  in- 
closures  of  the  pastures,  that  they  were  then  taken  witii  convulsions  and  turning  in 


60  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

a  circle  liad  dropped  dead  as  if  tbunderstriclien.  Abortions  were  frequent,  as  also 
early  ])artiiritions;  the  greater  part  of  the  lambs  died. 

Doctor  Randall  reports  tbat  in  the  State  of  New  York  a  disease  appears  each  win- 
ter among  the  cattle,  which  begins  by  a  slight  swelling  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  pos- 
terior limbs,  with  stiffness  of  the  joints.  This  affection,  which  has  the  appearance 
of  being  very  mild,  invariably  terminates  by  dry  gangrene  of  the  parts  first  involved, 
which  freeze  after  the  mortification.  In  the  severe  climate  of  New  York  the  animals 
winter  in  the  fields,  and  the  farmers  attribute  the  disease  to  freezing.  Randall  ob- 
serves that  if  this  were  the  real  cause  a  circular  line  of  demarkation  would  not  divide 
the  dead  and  living  parts  as  regularly  as  happens  in  this  disease,  and,  finally,  that 
the  external  appendages,  less  protected  against  the  cold  than  the  limbs  when  lying, 
should  freeze  sooner.  He  adds,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  several  other  physicians,  that 
the  att'ectiou  is  no  other  than  gangrenous  ergotism.  Indeed  the  Poa  pratensis  is  rich 
in  ergot,  and  as  it  does  not  produce  each  year  an  equal  quantity,  Randall  thinks  that 
the  cases  more  or  less  frequent  correspond  to  the  abundance  of  ergot.  (Veterinarian, 
184*.) 

If,  in  presence  of  the  facts  enumerated,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the  existence  of 
gangrenous  and  convulsive  ergotism  with  animals,  we  must  also  admit  that  these 
facts  are  neither  so  precise  nor  have  the  rigorous  correlation  of  cause  and  effect  which 
is  desirable  in  i)athology  ;  they  do  not  even  give  the  elements  for  asymptomatic  table. 
Randall  furnishes  in  this  connection  some  important  information;  it  agrees  with 
that  contained  in  the  interesting  observation  of  Decoste.  (Rec,  1848.)  These  mate- 
rials joined  to  the  phenomena  studied  with  animals  in  experiments  permit  us  to 
trace  the  symptoms  of  gangrenous  and  convulsive  ergotism. 

Mr.  Fleming-,  in  liis  work  entitled  Animal  Plagues,  has  compiled  a 
considerable  number  of  references  to  epidemics  and  epizootics  of  ergot- 
ism, wiiicli,  while  they  contain  a  large  part  of  the  early  records  relat- 
ing to  this  interesting  subject,  also  dlustrate  the  difficulty  in  deciding 
at  the  present  time  in  regard  to  the  real  nature  of  some  of  the  diseases 
to  which  allui^ions  are  made. 

In  A.  D.  992  there  was  a  long  and  severe  winter  and  an  extremely 
dry  summer,  followed  by  famine.  The  wheat  crops  were  affected  with 
blight  or  ergot,  and  the  forage  was  generally  of  a  bad  quality.  Soon 
after  there  was  a  widespread  and  deadly  ei)idemic  of  ergotism  {feu 
sacre)  in  France. 

Ergotism  was  again  prevalent  in  France  in  994.     (An.  PI.,  I,  p.  58.) 

In  1041  there  was  most  unproi)itious  weather,  accompanied  by  earth- 
quakes, tempests,  and  inundations.  It  snowed  heavily  during  harvest 
time.  In  many  parts  of  Europe  there  were  heavy  rains  throughout  the 
year.  Flanders  was  inundated  by  the  sea,  and  there  were  great  storms. 
The  consequences  of  these  disturbances  were  famine  and  disease  in 
England,  Germany,  and  France.  Cattle  and  men  appear  to  have  suf- 
fered equally.  "  The  plague  of  Divine  Fire  [igni^  dirina,  ergotism,  or 
erysipelas)  afflicted  many,  who  were  saved  only  through  the  merits  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin.  And  in  all  that  year  it  was  very  sad  in  many  and 
various  things,  both  in  tempests  and  in  earth's  fruits.  And  so  much 
cattle  perished  in  this  year  as  no  man  before  remembered,  both  through 
various  diseases  and  through  bad  weather."     (An.  PI.,  I,  pp.  CO,  (31.) 

For  1085  Mr.  Fleming  makes  the  following  record:  Epidemic  erysip- 
elas (ergotism  ?)  in  France,  with  inundations  and  famine.     "In  the  year 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  61 

10S5  there  was  disease  in  plants,  and  also  in  animals,  throughout  the 
world."     (An.  PI.,  I,  p.  03.) 

In  10S9-'91,  on  the  Continent,  "  in  these  years  many  men  were  killed 
by  the  ir/nis  ,sace?- (ergotism  or  gangrenous  erysipelas),  wliicli  destroyed 
their  vitals,  putrified  their  flesh,  and  blackened  their  limbs  like  to 
charcoal.  Even  if  their  lives  were  jjreserved  their  extremities  were  so 
affected  that  they  were  only  reserved  for  a  most  pitiable  existence." 
This  epidemy  is  mentioned  by  several  ancient  chroniclers.  Animals 
suffered  as  well  as  the  human  species.     (An.  PL,  I,  p.  64.) 

In  1099  gangrenous  erysipelas  (ergotism?)  in  Fi-ance  in  the  human 
species.  From  the  severity  of  the  epidemy,  we  maj'  infer  that  animals 
also  suffered.  There  were  great  inundations  in  England  by  the  sea  and 
by  the  rivers,  whereby  people,  cattle,  and  whole  towns  were  drowned. 
(An.  PI.,  I,  p.  65.) 

In  1127  the  "divine  plague"  (ergotism?)  appeared  in  mankind  in 
France.  Prayers  to  the  Virgin  Mary  healed  the  afflicted,  it  is  recorded. 
Great  pestilence  among  animals. 

In  1213  gangrenous  erysipelas  {feu  sacre)  in  mankind  in  France  and 
Spain. 

Neitlier  was  the  scarcity  limited  to  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  nor  disease  to  the  huinau 
species,  for  birds,  cattle,  and  sheep  became  sterile,  aud  bronght  forth  no  young,  and 
many  riding  and  other  horses  perished  for  hxck  of  straw  aud  barley.  (An.  PL,  1, 
p.  71.) 

In  1598,  after  inundations  and  heavy  fogs,  there  was  a  general  epi- 
zo'uty  among  cattle  in  Germany.  In  the  same  year  there  appeared  er- 
gotism in  the  human  si)ecies.     (An.  PI.,  I,  p.  138.) 

lu  1094  an  eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius.  A  supposed  epidemy  and 
epizoiity  of  ergotism.     Brunner  writes : 

Bv  what  unfortunate  combination  of  circumstances,  for  so  many  years,  the  whole 
of  nature  seemed  to  labor  under  an  unhealthy  atmosphere  remains  a  secret.  Many 
men,  and  those  most  learned,  have  written  on  the  state  of  the  air,  and  I  have  been  a 
spectator  of  most  grievous  calamities;  for  not  only  did  unwonted  fevers  attack  and 
kill  the  human  race,  and  would  submit  to  no  remedies,  but  also  the  beasts  were  har- 
rassed  by  deadly  dise-ases.  I  know  that  sheep,  cattle,  pigs,  horses,  and  geese  were 
not  free  from  the  contagion.  There  was  also  a  lack  of  corn,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  inordinate  consumption  of  it  by  the  soldiers,  but  also  from  the  character  of  the 
ground.  Some  of  the  corn  was  so  plainly  diseased  that  it  was  dangerous  for  man  to 
eat  of  it.  I  know  also  that  pease,  which  formed  a  great  part  of  the  food  of  the  army, 
were  infested  and  diseased  by  a  small  insect,  which  made  a  minute  hole  in  then).  I 
never  renu'mber  seeing  such  an  abundant  crop  of  darnel  (tares)  mixed  with  theoat.^, 
and  which  prevented  the  making  of  good  oat  meal,  our  chief  food,  for  it  was  needless 
to  attempt  to  labor  on  it,  it  was  so  bad.  All  grain  disappeared,  and  in  its  place  small, 
black,  lunn-shaped  masses  became  apparent,  which  were  highly  injurious  toman- 
kind.  These  were  named  "St.  Martin's  corn."  A  woman  was  shown  to  me  by  a  sur- 
gecm  who  suffered  from  convulsions  every  eleventh  day,  solely  from  eating  this  corrupt 
grain,  and  the  same  surgeon  told  me  he  had  amputated  a  leg  mortified  from  the  same 
cau.se.     (An,  PI.,  I,  pp.  lG(i-l«J7.) 

In  1721  the  winter  was  mild,  but  the  sjuiug  tiuiecold  ami  daiiii),  and 
the  remainder  of  the  year  wet.     Locusts  in    France  and  the  whole  of 


62  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Italy.  Epidemic  ergotism  in  Silesia  during  this  and  the  next  year,  and 
scarlatina  in  man  at  St.  Petersburg,  Courlaud,  and  Lithuania.  So 
notorious  was  it  that  diseased  grain  produced  formidable  diseases  in 
tlie  lower  animals,  that  while  the  epidemic  continued  in  Silesia  the  King 
of  Prussia  issued  an  edict  forbidding  the  use  of  rye  tainted  by  the  ergot, 
because  it  seriously  affected  horses  and  pigs.     (xVu.  PL,  I,  p.  234.) 

Another  strange  phenomenon  was  the  generallj^  laborious  parturi- 
tions of  the  domestic  animals  at  this  period : 

The  slieep  iu  niauy  places  lambed  with  great  difficulty,  so  that  the  shepherds  were 
obliged  to  use  force  to  deliver  tbem.  Among  the  cattle  one  hears  of  nothing  particu- 
lar beyond  the  fact  that  the  breeding  cows  and  ewes  brought  forth  their  young  with 
great  difficulty  so  that  force  was  obliged  to  be  used  to  assist  them.  At  Strelitz  three 
fine  young  cows  died  from  this  laborious  parturition.  They  trained  so  violently  that 
all  their  internal  organs  were  protruded.     (An.  PI.  I,  p.  235.) 

In  this  connection  Mr.  Fleming  gives  the  following  quotation  from 
Hecker : 

The  uncertaintj'  pertaining  to  the  nature  of  epizootics  of  the  Middle  Ages,  leaves  u» 
in  doubt  as  to  whether  some  of  them  might  not  belong  to  that  class  which  have  a 
common  origin  with  numy  of  the  epidemics  of  mankind.  The  ignis  sacer,  arsitra,  claude» 
sen  pesfis  itimaria,  ignis  SancU  Antonii,  Sancti  Martialis,  Btatw  Firginis,  ignis  invisibiUs, 
seu  infernaJis,  &c.,  would  all  seem  to  be  employed  to  denote  the  same  affection,  and 
which  we  have  reason  to  believe  was  ergotism.  It  is  only  by  chance,  as  it  were,  that 
wide-spread  and  fatal  diseases  among  the  lower  animals  are  mentioned  as  occurring 
coinicidently  with  these  obscurely  named  epidemies,  and  when  we  read  that  the 
causes  of  their  outbreak  were  unfavorable  weather,  which  brought  about  a  diseased 
condition  of  the  crops  and  pastures  we  are  only  partially  enlightened  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  affection. 

The  scorbutus  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  has  beeu  supposed,  with  much 
reason,  I  think,  to  have  been  ergotism,  .and  up  to  this  period  it  appears  to  have  devel- 
oped in  a  gangrenous  form.  At  this  time,  however,  it  changed  to  the  convulsive 
type,  which  it  has  chiefly  maintained  to  the  present.  A  curious  feature  in  this  disease 
is  shown  as  it  appears  iu  the  South  and  North  of  Europe.  In  the  South,  the  gangren- 
ous forui  is  the  rule;  in  the  North  the  convulsive  form  is  particularly  mai'ked,  and 
very  rarely  the  <lry  gangrene;  while  a  few  of  the  epidemies  present  both  characters. 
The  same  peculiarity  is  observable  in  the  phenomena  of  ergotism  iu  the  lower  ani- 
mals during  the  existence  of  an  epidemy,  and  it  has  also  been  shown  to  exist  by  ex- 
perimentation; the  only  exception  would  appear  to  be  in  the  case  of  galliuaceoua 
birds,  in  which  gangrene  of  the  crest  or  comb  is  the  most  constant  phenomenou. 
It  is  not  until  the  seventeenth  or  eighteenth  centuries  that  we  can  with  certainty 
find  authors  describing  ergotism  in  the  epizootic  form  iu  animals  and  from  that  time 
till  now  observers  have  been  numerous.     (Page  2'.H.) 

Convulsive  ergotism  appeared  in  mankind  in  Silesia  and  Bohemia 
(1730),  and  Antoine  Soring,  the  historian  of  the  epidemy,  notices  that 
it  had  been  remarked,  and  the  subject  had  been  demonstrated  by  ex- 
periment, that  spurred  rye  produces  disease  in  fowls  and  mammiferous 
animals,  and  that  when  we  know  i)ositively  that  animals  are  affected 
in  this  way  during  epidemics  of  ergotism,  we  may  conclude  that  the  rye 
is  very  rich  in  ergot,  and  its  action  very  violent.     (An.  P.  I,  p.  2{)2.) 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  63^ 

In  1754  a  very  extensive  epidemy  of  ergotism  prevailed  iu  France, 
nearly  approaching  in  its  ravages  those  of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  began 
at  Sologne,  its  traditional  birthplace,  and  spread  through  the  Llandes, 
Flanders,  and  Artois.  The  ergot  was  so  abundant  that  it  formed  one- 
third  of  the  rye.  The  animals  fed  on  it  contracted  the  same  gangrenous 
diseases  as  afflicted  the  human  species.     (An.  PL  I,  p.  384.) 

The  next  outbreak  referred  to  is  described  as  follows : 

Au  epidemy  of  ergotism  was  also  reported  as  occurring  in  niauy  northern  countries 
caused  by  the  wheat,  rye,  and  corn  having  been  diseased.  It  lasted  during  this  and 
the  next  year,  and  amnials  seem  to  have  sutiered.  Wagner  described  it  as  it  appeared 
iu  the  marshy  districts  of  Saxony,  the  circle  of  Schlieben,  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Elster:  "A  light  frost  destroyed  the  blossom  on  the  vine  and  the  rye  iu  18131.  Each 
partially  withered  blossom  of  the  rye  crop,  instead  of  a  healthy  seed,  brought  forth 
a  spur  of  ergot  about  three-fonrths  of  au  inch  long.  .  *  *  *  In  some  houses,  where 
the  disease  raged  most  violently,  grain  was  found  consisting  of  two  parts  of  diseased 
and  one  of  bitter  rye,  vetch  and  a  variety  of  other  seeds.  *  »  *  Pigs  ate  ergo- 
tized  rye  (Mutterkorn),  and  suffered  from  its  effects.  Dogs,  however,  instinctively, 
avoided  it;  but  when  compelled  by  hunger  to  eat  it,  they  exhibited  8ymi>toms  of 
madness  ( ToJlwiith).  I  believe  that  such  food  was  partaken  of  here  and  there  by  dogs, 
and  that  it  assisted  iu  producing  uuidness,  as  dogs  and  cats  were  so  affected  that  no 
man  ever  remembers  seeing  so  many  mad  as  during  the  existence  of  the  ergotism 
{Kriebelkraitkheit)  among  the  people.  This  unhealthy  grain  may  have  had  something 
to  do  with  the  sickness  among  the  lower  animals  which  prevailed  at  this  time,  and 
which  was  ascribed  to  the  choleraic  influence,  though  its  share  must  have  been  small." 
(An.  PI.  II,  p.  172.) 

Raphania  iu  pigs  was  witnessed  by  Dr.  Helm  : 

Twelve  pigs  of  various  ages  were  fed  with  rye  which  contained  mucli  ergot.  A 
few  hours  afterwards  convulsions  set  in,  with  foaming  at  the  mouth ;  the  aniuuils 
grunted  and  groaned  most  piteousljs  became  paralyzed  iu  the  hinder  extremities, 
and  expressed  their  agony  iu  the  strangest  contortions.  At  first  I  pi"esumed  the  dis- 
ease arose  from  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog,  but  on  opening  the  first  animal  that  died  I 
discoveied  the  nature  of  the  malady  by  finding  in  the  stomach  much  ergoted  rye. 
The  jaws  were  so  tightly  closed  that  with  great  difficulty  a  purge  of  white  liellebore 
was  introduced,  and  that  w.as  followed  by  a  dose  of  viuegar  and  buttermilk  and  re- 
peated douches  of  very  cold  water.  By  these  means  seveu  of  the  animals  were  saved. 
The  other  five  died  iu  the  course  of  a  few  days.     (An.  PI.  II,  p.  197.) 


In  our  own  country  we  have  no  compilation  of  the  references  to  animal 
<liseases  which  may  liave  been  made  from  time  to  time,  and  hence  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  give  a  history  of  ergotism  in  this  countrj-.  My  at- 
tention, however,  has  been  called  to  the  following  article  in  the  Farmers* 
Cabinet,  Vol.  Ill  (1838-';«>),  p.  IGl,  which  shows  not  only  that  the  dis- 
ease has  occarred  heretofore,  but  that  its  cause  was  recognized  : 

I  have  just  seen  a  number  of  the  "Farmer  and  (iardener'"  of  l?;iltimore,  dated  lUtli 
June  hist,  which  contains  an  artich;  on  the  "Hoof-ail"  of  cattle,  andcDpiod  from  tin- 
Genesee  Farmer,  upon  which  I  will  iii.-ikc  a  few  rciiiai  l<s. 

The  writer  of  tlie  article,  John  15.  Howcrs,  dates  from  Lcdynrd,  and  ascriht's  th(» 
loss  of  the  hoofs  iu  three  cows  to  their  having  been  fed  fur  cightor  nine  d.-iys  on 
spear  grass  (I  suppose  our  green  grass,  poa  riridiM)  ■.iiU-rtvil  willi  ergot.  Tlic  con- 
jecture is  well  founded,  as  you  may  be  assured  by  referring  to  the  lil'th  vohmic  of  (lie 


64  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Memoirs  of  the  "Philadelphia  Society  for  Promotiug  Agriculture,"  p.  19G,  where  you 
will  see  a  pai)er  of  mine  on  the  subject,  which  I  think  will  leave  no  room  to  doubt  as 
to  the  cause  of  the  disease.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  ergot  of  rye,  if  grouud  into 
meal  with  sound  rye,  wheu  made  into  bread  and  eateu  produces  mortilication  of  the 
lower  extremities  in  France.  (See  Memoirs  of  the  same  society,  volume  3,  appendix, 
p.  5.) 

JAMES  MEASE. 
Chestnut  Strket,  October  6^  1838. 

Dr.  James  Mease,  tlie  writer  of  the  above,  gives  the  following  ad - 
ditioual  information  on  the  same  subject: 

In  the  year  1803,  the  late  Joseph  Cooper,  of  New  Jersey,  informed  me  that  he  had 
observed  the  hay  made  of  the  natural  green  grass,  or  spear-grass  {poa  viridis),  growing 
<jn  his  fine  meadows,  on  Petty's  Island,  made  by  banking  out  the  Delaware,  to  be 
occasionally  affected  with  a  black  spear,  about  one-fourth  or  half  an  inch  in  length, 
somewhat  resembling  the  ergot  in  rye,  and  that  cattle  eating  such  hay  became  affected 
with  a  disease  in  their  hoofs,  causing  them  sometimes  to  drop  off.  He  ascribed  the 
morbid  production  in  the  grass  to  neglect  in  supplying  it  with  water  from  the  river, 
by  means  of  sluices,  during  the  dry  season.  Upon  my  mentioning  the  facts  soon  after 
to  the  late  William  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  an  extensive  grazier,  he  confinned  them 
from  his  own  observations  at  Blooming  Grove,  near  Gray's  Court,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  in  the  winter  succeeding  the  very  dry  summer  of  the  year  1793.  The  hay  was 
the  produce  of  a  bog  meadow  ;  it  is  presumed,  therefore,  that  it  was  made  from  the 
same  natural  grass  that  grew  in  the  meadows  of  Joseph  Cooper. 

Some  years  after,  Mr.  W.  T.  Woodman,  of  Tredyffrin  Township,  Chester  County, 
Pennsylvania,  communicated  to  me  an  account,  in  the  following  letter,  of  a  similar 
disease,  and  from  a  like  cause,  among  his  father's  cattle: 

"  Having  observed  the  remark  in  the  Port  Folio  for  May,  1815,  in  the  review  of  the 
third  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Agricultural  Society,  that,  '  as  yet, 
in  America  we  have  never  heard  of  any  human  person  falling  a  victim  to  the  ergot, 
nor  indeed  is  it  satisfactorily  ascertained  that  it  has  ever  been  injurious  to  our  ani- 
mals, I  think  proper  to  communicate  to  you  an  account  of  a  disease  which  in  1802 
or  1803  prevailed  in  this  neighborhood  among  milk  cows  particularly,  but  which 
also  affected  other  cattle  and  horses.  You  will  perceive  that  it  was  analogous  to  the 
one  supposed  to  be  occasioned  by  ergot. 

"  For  my  part  I  am  entirely  ignorant  of  the  cause,  but  still  I  am  unwilling  to  as- 
cribe it  to  ergot  (with  wliich  rye  in  this  neigliborhood  is  more  or  less  affected  every 
year),  for  this  reason,  that  milk  cows,  which  are  never  fed  with  rye  by  our  farmers 
or  butter-makers,  exhibited  more  violent  symptoms  than  oxen  or  horses. 

"The  farmers  attributed  the  disease  to  a  peculiar  mildew,  which  sometimes  affects 
the  grass  on  the  bottom  meadows  of  a  small  stream,  the  basin  of  which  is  very  exten- 
sive, and  very  luxuriant,  and  entirely  appropriated  to  meadow  land,  and  suffered  to 
lie  under  natural  grass.  No  timothy  or  other  grass  seeds  have  ever  been  sown  on  it, 
to  my  knowledge. 

"  The  cattle  jifiected  did  not  appear  to  lose  their  appetite,  and  while  they  ate  heart- 
ily of  hay  and  other  food  became  daily  more  and  more  lean,  manifesting  great  un- 
easiness, occasioned  most  probably  by  violent  itching.  Their  hair  in  many  places  fell 
off,  or  was  rubbed  off  by  the  animal  in  striving  to  scratch  itself.  After  these  symp- 
toms had  continued  for  some  tune,  one  or  both  hind  feet  became  sore  and  the  hoofs 
loose,  at  which  period  the  animals  began  to  grow  better.  Others  lost  their  h()(»fsand 
part  of  their  legs.  Three  of  my  father's  cows  lost  both  of  their  hind  feet,  and  some 
others  in  the  neighborhood  were  equally  as  bad.  Tiie  legs  began  by  drying  and  grow- 
in"  smaller  fi-om  tbe  hoof  to  lialf  way   between  the  fetlock   and  tlie  hock,  at  which 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  65 

poiut  it  appeared  as  if  a  strinj::  of  twine  were  tieil  very  tight  ronud  the  leg.  Above 
this  part  the  tlesh  was  to  all  appearance  in  perfect  health  ;  the  lower  part  was  hard, 
Mack,  and  offensive.  When  the  lower  part  became  quite  dry,  and  little  else  thaa 
lione,  it  separated  and  fell  off,  after  which  the  aninaals  lived  and  ate  heartily,  hob- 
bling along  on  the  remaining  stumps.  They  even  began  to  grow  fat.  Their  health 
seemed  perfect.  They  would,  no  doubt,  have  live<l  long  in  this  state,  and  were  killed 
only  from  motives  of  compassion. 

"One  cow  belonging  to  my  father,  which  had  lost  only  one  of  her  hind  feet,  and  that 
at  the  first  joint  above  the  foot,  bore  a  very  strong,  vigorous  calf,  which  lived  and 
did  well.  The  cow  also  afforded  as  much  milk  after  as  before  her  misfortune,  and  was 
paHtured  on  the  same  grass  to  which  her  disease  was  attributed  when  in  a  state  of 
hay. 

"I  think  ihe  disease  was  never  known  but  one  season.  The  first  symptom  of  it  was 
observable  in  February,  and  it  reached  its  crLsis  about  the  middle  of  May.  Should 
Ihis  conmiunication  lead  to  any  further  observations  on  the  nature  and  cause  of  the 
disease  I  shall  be  much  pleased,  and  they  may  be  of  great  service  to  the  agriculturist. 
Should  the  disease  ever  again  make  its  appearance  I  shall  be  more  particular  in  my 
observations. 

"I  remain,  very  respectfully, 

"WM.  T.  WOODMAN. 

"  P.  S. — It  should  be  observed,  that  though  we  have  every  year  more  or  less  of  the 
ergot,  the  quantity  of  it  is  never  considerable.  I  think  there  is  seldom  more  than  one 
jiint  to  a  hundred  bushels  of  rye. 

"  Different  remedies  were  tried,  but  none  of  them  afforded  any  relief." 

'•  Being  desirious  to  acertain  whether  the  disease  of  the  grass  to  which  Mr.  W.  re- 
ferred had  grown  in  meadows  that  had  been  deprived  of  their  usual  supply  of  water, 
I  addressed  a  letter  to  him  in  reference  to  this  jjoint,  and  received  the  following  an- 
swer, under  date  of  June  10,  1815  : 

"Your  favor  of  the  30th  ultimo  came  to  hand  the  4th  instant.  Since  the  receipt  of  it  I 
have  made  numerous  inquiries,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  additional  information 
re8])ecting  the  disease  (of  which  I  communicated  an  account),  and  on  the  season 
preceding  its  prevalence,  «fec  ;  but  I  regret  to  inform  you  that  farmers  in  general  are 
so  deficient  in  observation,  and  so  entirely  out  of  practice  of  recording  facts,  that  I 
have  nf't  been  able  satisfactorily  to  ascertain  whether  the  season  in  which  the  "  in- 
jurious hay  was  made"  was  a  dry  one  or  not. 

"However,  my  father  informs  me  that,  as  nearly  as  he  can  recollect,  about  that  period 
the  ditch  which  conveyed  water  to  his  meadow  became  so  filled  Avith  mud  and  ac- 
cumulations of  mud  and  other  matter  as  to  render  the  supply  very  imperfect.     As  a 
deficiency  of  water  appears  to  be  the  cause  of  the  unwholesome  qualities  of  the  hay, 
it  is  highly  probable  that  the  injurious  hay  was  made  during  the  season  that  water 
was  wanting.     But  shortly  after  this  time  the  death  of  my  grandfather  in  a  great 
I   measure  excluded  my  father  from  the  benefit  of  the  water.     The  original  plantation 
I   being  divided  into  two  farms,  and  that  of  my  father  lying  farther  down  the  stream, 
j   the  water  of  the  artificial  course  is  exhausted  before  it  reaches  his  laud.     It  should, 
however,  be  remarked  that  since  that  period  he  mows  his  grass  while  it  is  very  young, 
1    and  before  the  seeds  are  touched  by  the  "smutty  affection."     Indeed,  the  farmers 
generally  in  this  neighborhood,  since  their  cattle  were  affected  with  the  disease,  are 
careful  to  mow  much  earlier  than  they  did  formerly. 

"I  am  strongly  induced  to  believe  that  Mr.  Cooper  ascribes  the  disease  to  the  proper 
cause,  for  I  have  been  correctly  informed  that  a  loail  of  the  injurious  hay  was  sold  to 

Rogers,  who  at  that  time  kept  the  Buck  Tavern,  in  second  street,  whose  cow,  in 

cousequence  of  feeding  on  ir,  was  affected  with  a  disease  of  a  similar  nature. 
Your  friend,  &c., 

W.  T.  WOODMAN  " 
57.")!  D  A o 


66  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

The  disease  prevailed  to  a  great  extent  in  Orange  County,  New  York 
in  the  year  1820,  and  is  very  well  and  minutely  described  by  Dr.  Arnell, 
corres])onding-  secretary  of  the  agricultural  society  of  that  county- 
The  facts  detailed  by  him  leave  no  doubt  of  the  deaths  of  numerous 
cattle  in  his  vicinity  being  caused  by  their  eating  hay  made  from  some 
grass  that  was  affected  with  the  species  of  ergot  observed  in  the  pro- 
duce of  the  meadows  before  mentioned,  for  he  expressly  mentions  that 
the  spear  grass  g^^ew  in  the  meadows  in  the  towns  of  Wallkill  and  Bloom- 
ing Grove,  where  the  disease  prevailed,  and  in  a  bog  meadow  soil. 
Dr.  A.  remarks  that,  ''  the  hay  w^as  cut  in  June  or  beginning  of  July, 
immediately  before  harvest;  that  only  cattle  in  good  condition  suffered 
from  eating  the  diseased  hay,  the  poor  and  meager  escaping.''  The 
means  of  prevention  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Arnell  are  similar  to  that  ju- 
dically  recommended  by  Mr.  Woodman,  viz.,  to  cut  the  grass  early,  be- 
fore the  ergot  forms ;  or,  if  it  be  found  in  the  grass,  to  defer  cutting  it 
until  late,  when  ex])erience  proves  that  it  may  be  safely  used;  for 
Dr.  A.  remarks  that  "  the  ergot  then  becomes  dry  and  shriveled,  with- 
out any  of  the  flour  or  vegeto-animal  matter  which  it  usuallj' contains.'? 
But  the  hay  made  from  such  late-made  grass  must  be  of  little  value, 
because  Dr.  A.  says  truly  that  "  this  spear  grass  is  so  early  that 
if  left  to  stand  till  the  usual  time  of  mowing  meadows  it  loses  all  its 
succulent  and  nutritious  properties."  This  agrees  with  our  experience 
with  respect  to  the  spear  grass  of  Pennsylvania,  where  it  ripens  next 
in  order  to  the  early  Anthroxanthum  odoratiim,  or  sweet-scented  meadow 
grass.  Still,  however,  it  may  be  useful  by  answering  one  purpose  of 
food  in  all  animals :  to  stimulate  by  distention,  and  to  add  to  the  stock 
of  barn-yard  manure.  The  various  remedies  tried  to  cure  the  disease 
in  Xew  York  are  enumerated  by  Dr.  Arnell.  Those  that  succeeded 
were: 

1.  Poultices  of  soa]),  rye-meal,  and  salt,  to  the  legs  and  feet. 

2,  A  wash  of  beef-brine,  composed  of  saltpetre,  and  common  salt, 
applied  several  times  a  day,  and  after  washing  and  rubbing  the  feet 
with  the  bitter-sweet  ointment.  Of  the  animals  thus  treated,  one  only 
lost  its  hoof. 

In  the  treatment  of  the  disease,  the  first  object  to  be  attended  to  is  to 
remove, the  cause  producing  it.     This  is  to  be  effected  by  drenches  of 
castor-oil,  or  sweet-oil  and  molasses  and  water  warmed,  to  which  may  be 
added,  if  found  necessary,  after  the  failure  to  operate  of  the  first  dose,] 
half  a  pound  of  glauber  salts,  dissolved  in  warm  water.     During  the  op-J 
eration  of  tlie  drench  corn  meal,  rye,  or  oatmeal,  mixed  with  a  large  ])ro-' 
portion  of  warm  water,  and  a  handful  of  common  salt  to  every  bucket 
of  it,  should  be  freely  given.     The  use  of  hay  free  from  ergot  is  as  ob- 
viously in(lisi)ensable.     A  handful  of  salt  should  be  given  every  day  to 
promote  digestion  and  give  tone  to  the  system.     Tlie  local  apiilications 
must  be  of  a  stimulating  nature  to  rouse  the  activity  of  the  circulation 
and  of  the  absorbents,  and  to  enable  the  i)art  laboring  under  a  deti- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  67 

ciency  of  vital  energy  to  resume  its  healthy  functions,  or  to  throw  off 
the  disease.  Fish, or  beef-brine  will  answer  as  well  as  any,  but  they 
should  be  well  rubbed  on  the  feet  and  legs,  for  friction  greatly  tends  to 
assist  in  restoring  the  health  of  the  parts.  To  prevent  the  appearance 
of  ergot  in  the  grass,  care  should  be  taken,  when  practicable,  to  supi)ly 
the  meadows  with  water  in  dry  seasons. 

In  theGene.see  Farmer,  1837,  p.  .50,  was  published  the  following  letter, 
clearly  referring  to  this  disease  : 

Perhaps  you  are  aware  there  is  a  complaint  among  cattle  occasionally,  in  this  part 
of  the  world,  and  it  may  be  in  many  others.  I  have  lieanl  of  it  in  Canada.  I  do  not 
know  the  correct  name.  It  is  not  the  hoof-ail,  although  it  attacks  the  hind  feet  of 
cattle,  and,  if  not  arrested,  the  limb  will  rot  olf,  up  to  the  second  joint  of  the  leg,  and 
the  animal  must  be  killed,  or  it  will  die ;  after  it  has  proceeded  so  far  as  to  be  iucnralile, 
the  only  way  is  to  knock  it  in  the  head. 

I  write  this  to  inform  yonr  numerous  readers  of  a  cure  we  have  here,  although  per- 
haps the  remedy  is  generally  known.  It  is  to  cut  off  the  toes  of  the  hind  foot  (in 
which  only  it  appears),  about  an  inch  horizontal,  so  as  to  open  the  foot  sufficiently 
there  for  the  blood  to  come  out;  then  put  the  foot  in  a  stocking  with  plenty  of  tar  at 
the  toe.  If  taken  in  time  this  will  effect  a  cure.  It  must  be  done  early,  however, 
when  the  animal  first  shows  symptoms  of  the  complaint,  by  a  frequent  and  slight 
kicking  out  of  the  hind  foot,  as  if  pricked  with  something. 

I  have  heard  the  cause  attributed  to  poisonous  hay,  such  as  smut.  Do  you  or  any 
of  your  correspondents  know  anything  about  it  '  If  so,  let  us  have  your,  or  their,  ex- 
jierience. 

CHILTON  FORD. 

MoHRisTOWX,   Sai)if  Lawrence  Countij,  X.    Y. 

Again,  in  the  same  periodical,  1857,  j).  245,  we  tiud  the  following  re- 
port of  this  trouble  in  Portage  County,  Ohio  ; 

In  consequence  of  the  appearance  of  a  severe  and  fatal  disease  among  cattle  in  some 
parts  of  Portage  County  (Ohio)  the  past  winter,  the  Farmers'  Association  of  Edinburg 
appointed  the  undersigned  a  committee  to  investigate  the  subject,  and  ascertain  if 
possible  the  nature,  cause,  and  cure  of  this  malady.  The  report  of  this  committee  we 
herewith  forward  for  publication  in  the  Gene.see  Farmer,  together  with  a  resolution 
adopted  by  the  association  at  the  close  of  an  instructive  discussion  upon  the  adoption 
of  the  report. 

Ji'<j)orf. — The  disease  is  not  caused  by  freezing,  neither  is  it  what  is  called  hoof-ail, 
foot-rot,  or  fouls.  Its  symptoms  seem  to  be  a  deadness  of  the  end  of  the  tail,  extend- 
ing upward  till  in  .some  cases  the  Uesfi  separates  from  the  bone  and  falls  off.  About 
tlie  same  time  there  is  a  purple  appearance  just  at  the  edge  of  the  hair,  above  the 
hoof.  It  then  commences  swelling,  becomes  feverish,  extending  upward  to  the  ankle, 
and  in  some  instances  causing  a  separation  of  the  cotHu-bone  from  the  pastern  joint. 
The  lameness  is  confined  entirely  to  the  hind  feet.  The  blood  is  pale  and  thin,  and  in 
most  ca.ses  the  animal  retains  a  good  appetite  till  near  the  last.  The  cause  we  ap- 
prehend to  be  feeding  on  hay  containing  ergot  (a  parasitic  fungus  growing  within 
the  glumes  of  various  grasses)  in  cou'iiderable  iiuautities.  We  arrive  at  tiiis  conclu- 
sion from  the  fact  that  the  hay  fed  by  one  individual  who  had  lost  a  large  number  of 
cows  contained  much  of  this  article,  and  also  that  the  farmer  from  whom  he  purchased 
the  hay  lost  cattle  from  the  same  disease,  and  in  both  instances  cattle  fed  on  other 
hay  were  not  affected.  In  every  well  marked  case  of  this  disease  it  has  been  ascer. 
tained  that  t\u-  hay  on  which  the  animals  were  fed  contained  the  ergot.  The  hay  in 
which  the  ergot  was  found  the  most,  was  the  kind  cal'ed  tlie  June,  or  spear-grass, 
growing  in  old  meadows  where  tln'  soil  is  rifli  and  the  growtli  rank. 


68  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS 

The  severe  frost  ou  the  31st  of  May  1856,  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the  cause 
of  this  disease  in  the  grass  by  destroying  the  vitality  of  the  seed  before  it  arrived  at 
perfection ;  while  by  others  it  is  attributed  to  the  extreme  warm  growing  weather  in 
June  causing  an  overflow  of  sap. 

Although  we  consider  the  whole  subject  involved  in  much  obscurity  and  uncertainty, 
and  requiring  further  investigation,  yet  we  are  satisfied  the  best  manner  of  treating 
the  disease  is  immediate  resort  to  restoratives  and  a  change  of  diet,  whereby  an  in- 
crease of  animal  heat  and  vitality  is  obtained,  and  at  the  same  time  making  an  appli- 
cation of  suitable  remedies  to  the  affected  parts,  by  cutting  off  the  toes  until  they 
bleed,  and  blue  vitriol  moderately  applied  to  the  foot  has  in  several  instances-  been 
foiind  beneficial.  A  free  use  of  charcoal  and  salt  in  various  ways  is  undoubtedly  a 
good  preventive  ;  and  a  careful  examination  of  the  hay  or  grass  on  which  stock  is  fed 
is  indispensable  ;  if  ergot  is  found  in  hay  it  uuiy  be  removed  by  threshing  or  tramping. 
Of  t  tie  specific  nature  and  properties  ofthe  ergot  in  hay,  or  whether  they  are  identical 
with  that  of  rye,  we  are  not  well  informed.  The  immediate  effects  of  the  latter  in 
large  doses  is  well  known,  but  it  has  no  affinity  to  the  oi'dinary  known  effects  of 
vegetable  j»oisons.  What  effect  would  be  produced  by  its  gradual  and  continual  use 
we  are  not  in  possession  of  sufiScient  information  to  warrant  us  in  speaking  positively; 
but  we  do  suppose,  after  a  careful  examination,  that  it  operates  on  the  blood  of  the 
animal,  and  unless  immediate  remedies  are  applied  it  proves  fatal. 

P.  BARRON,  M.  D., 
R.  M.  HART,  Esq., 
J.  Y.  PEARSON, 
JONAS  BOND, 

Committee. 

The  followiDg  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted: 

Resolved  (inasmuch  as  the  evidence  adduced  is  conclusive),  that  ergot  in  hay  is 
the  cause  of  this  disease.  The  association  cannot  decide  that  it  is  the  real  cause  of 
a  poison  being  introduced  into  the  system,  owing  to  our  inability  to  analyze  this  sub- 
stance; therefore  we  desire  to  ask  the  editors  of  our  agricultural  papers  for  more  in- 
formation, and  to  obtain  a  chemical  analysis  of  ergot. 

In  the  Chicaxjo  Tribune,  March  14,  1884,  appeared  a  letter  signed  J. 
Hosmer,  containing  the  following  paragraph,  which,  while  it  refers  the 
disease  to  a  ditferent  cause,  evidently  describes  the  same  affection  : 

In  1873-'74,  in  Chariton  County,  Missouri,  the  winter  was  very  severe,  the  mercury 
going  to  more  than  20-  below  zero.  The  people  on  the  open  prairie,  mostly  Germans 
who  had  recently  moved  there,  seeing  that  the  native  Missourians  provided  no  shel- 
ter for  their  stock  provided  none  themselves.  In  the  spring  from  one  to  three  in  a 
flock  of  eight  to  ten  had  the  "  black  leg."  It  commenced  to  separate  just  where  the 
skin  joins  the  hoof.  The  animal  being  in  great  pain,  lapped  the  infected  part,  and 
the  poison  was  thus  transferred  to  the  mouth.  It  was  nothing  more  or  less  than  gan- 
grene, as  the  leg  rotted  and  became  putrid. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1884,  a  letter  written  to  the  editor  of  the 
Breeder's  Gazette  by  Cushman  Brothers,  of  North  East,  Pa.,  in  regard 
to  a  strange  disease  of  dairy  cattle  there  was  referred  to  me.  This  let- 
ter, written  February  19,  and  a  second  one  from  the  same  gentlemen, 
dated  March  8,  in  reply  to  some  inquiries  of  mine,  contained  the  follow- 
lowing  informatiou : 

The  dairy  in  question  contained  18  cows,  and  the  disease  appeared 
about  January  1,  1884.    The  first  indication  was  "  cocked  "ankles  behind, 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  69 

the  legs  begiuuing  to  swell  ia  a  few  hours,  and  iu  two  days  were  "  as 
large  as  the  skin  could  hold."  This  swelling  only  extended  as  high  as 
the  hock  joint.  In  about  a  week  the  hoofs  began  to  come  off;  the  parts 
beneath  were  red,  but  there  was  .no  formation  of  pus.  The  feet  were  ap- 
parently healthy  between  the  claws,  the  appetite  good,  the  eyes  bright, 
and  the  cud  regularly  masticated.  The  animals  had  been  kei»t  in  a 
warm  stable  all  winter.  At  the  latter  date  mentioned  four  had  been 
killed,  their  api)etite  having  finally  failed,  two  more  were  very  bad,  "  a 
scab  having  formed  from  top  of  hoof  to  several  inches  above  ankle  and 
leg  rotting  oft';''  the  foot  of  one  animal  had  come  off  at  first  joint  al)ove 
the  hoof,  the  fore  feet  of  none  had  been  affected  but  with  two  the  fore- 
legs were  then  swelling  above  the  knees.  One  that  had  been  affected 
without  losing  hoofs  and  had  apparently  recovered,  was  taken  down  a 
second  time.  Many  people  said  their  feet  were  frozen,  but  the  owner 
says  they  have  now  changed  their  minds.  He  had  looked  carefully  in 
their  mouths  for  sores  but  had  found  none. 

This  was  undoubtedly  ergotism,  and  was  so  diagnosed  by  Dr.  Germer, 
the  health  officer  of  Erie,  Pa.,  after  the  Kansas  disease  had  been  attrib^ 
uted  to  this  cause. 

In  recent  years  several  epizootics  of  ergotism  have  also  been  observed 
in  New  York  by  Professor  Law,  in  Iowa  by  Professor  Stalker,  and  in 
Colorado  by  Professor  Faville ;  and  it  seems  probable  that  when  our 
veterinarians  learn  to  recognize  this  disease  and  to  refer  it  to  its  proper 
origin,  we  shall  find  that  it  is  not  an  uncommon  affection  of  cattle. 

TREATMENT  AND  PREVENTION  OF  ERGOTISM. 

When  the  first  signs  of  this  disorder  ap])ear  the  most  important  point 
to  be  attended  to  is  to  make  a  complete  change  of  food,  and  to  see  that 
this  is  of  good  quality,  nutritious,  and  free  from  ergot.  It  would  also  be 
proper  to  give  a  dose  of  physic  (from  one  to  two  pounds  of  Epsom  salts), 
in  order  to  remove  as  much  as  possible  of  the  poison  still  contained  in 
the  digestive  organs,  and  to  follow  this  with  soft  food,  as  mashes  and 
roots.  In  the  most  severe  cases,  those  in  which  a  part  of  the  limb  is  al- 
ready lifeless,  treatment  will  avail  but  little.  The  greater  number  of 
cases,  however,  have  not  advanced  to  this  stage  when  lameness  is  first 
noticed,  and  these  will  be  greatly  benefited  by  removing  the  cause,  and 
placing  the  animal  under  conditions  favorable  for  resisting  the  poison. 
A  very  important  condition  is  warmth.  Even  when  animals  are  fed 
large  (piantities  of  ergot  they  seldom  suffer  except  in  cold  weather;  and 
consequently  in  attempting  to  check  the  advance  of  the  disease,  advan- 
tage should  be  taken  of  tliis  fact  by  placing  the  cattle  in  warm  sheds. 

Another  condition  believed  by  some  to  have  nuich  influence  on  the  de- 
velopment of  ergotism  is  the  water  su[»ply.  With  plenty  of  water  al- 
ways at  hand  it  is  believed  that  larger  quantities  of  ergot  may  be  taken 
foralonger  time  than  when  the  water  siipply  is  deficient.  In  the  cold  win- 
ters which  occur  over  much  of  our  cattle-raising  countiv,  it   is  ilifficult 


70  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

to  induce  the  animals  to  take  a  sufficient  aiuonnt  of  water.  Holes  cut 
tbrougb  the  ice  soon  freeze  over,  and  the  weatlier  is  frequently  so  severe 
tbat  tbe  cattle  will  drink  only  a  few  swallows  of  water  before  tbey  will 
leave  to  seek  a  sbelterfi-om  the  cuttin^;-  wiTids,  and  when,  later  in  the  day, 
they  try  to  obtain  more  water,  tbe  drinkinfj  boles  are  frozen  over. 
Where  ergotism  i)revails  tbe  waterin^,^  sbould  receive  close  attention. 

Ergotism  can  probably  be  entirely  prevented  by  cutting  the  hay  be- 
fore tbe  seeds  have  formed.  Both  in  Missouri  and  Illinois  I  saw  tbe 
clearest  examples  of  this.  Hay  comi)Osed  of  the  same  kinds  of  grass, 
cut  upon  tbe  same  laud,  was  free  from  ergot  or  largeh'  infested  with  it, 
according  asithad  been  cut  green  or  ripe.  This matteriswortbyof  care- 
ful consideration.  Hay  cut  green  is  more  digestible  and  in  every  way 
more  A'aluable  than  tbat  wbicb  is  allowed  to  become  ripe  and  woody; 
and  tbe  latter  is  much  more  liable  to  produce  severe  disease,  such  as  in- 
digestion, impaction,  and  ergotism. 

This  fatal  disorder  may,  therefore,  l>e  prevented  in  the  future  by 
proper  and  careful  management ;  tbe  chief  points  in  this  being  to  cut  the 
hay  before  tbe  seeds  have  formed,  to  see  that  the  animals  have  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  drinking  water,  to  keep  tbem  in  good  condition  by 
tbe  liberal  use  of  nutritious  food,  and  to  protect  tbem  as  much  as  possi- 
ble from  the  inclement  weather.  When  It  is  found  necessary  to  feed 
hay  which  contains  a  considerable  quantity  of  ergot  it  is  of  course  doul)ly 
important  to  look  after  tbe  water  supply  and  tbe  shelter. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SOUTHERN  CATTLE  FEVER. 

An  approximately  correct  outline  of  tbe  district  permanently  infected 
with  southern  fever  is  a  matter  of  supreme  importance,  not  only  to  tbe 
people  who  live  within  and  near  this  district,  but  to  those  interested  in 
live-stock  in  every  part  of  tbe  country.  The  losses  which  occur  every 
summer,  and  which  in  some  years,  have  been  really  disastrous  to  the 
stock  owners  of  certain  sections,  have  been  largely  the  result  of  igno- 
rance of  the  districts  from  which  it  is  dangerous  to  bring  cattle  in  sum- 
mer, and  to  which  adult  cattle  cannot  be  taken  with  safety  at  any  sea- 
son of  the  year,  unless  they  are  to  be  slaughtered  for  beef  within  a  short 
time  after  their  arrival. 

An  attempt  to  make  efficient  laws  to  guard  against  this  malady  by 
regulating  the  movement  of  cattle  from  infected  localities  has  generally 
failed  to  give  relief,  because  these  districts  could  not  be  accurately 
designated.  States,  therefore,  as  well  as  individuals,  have  been  unable 
to  protect  themselves,  and  tbe  losses  have  gone  on  year  after  year  in 
spite  of  individual  i)recautions  and  State  laws.  Tbe  cheap  cattle  of 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Arkansas,  Southeastern  Virginia,  and 
other  infected  sections  are  at  times  carried  to  the  most  remote  sections 
of  tbe  country,  and  when  this  is  done  in  spring  or  sumn)er  extensive 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  71 

aud  fatal  outbreaks  of  soutberu  fevor  among  the  susceptible  animals 
which  cross  their  trail  or  mix  with  them  upon  their  pastures  is  the 
general  result. 

Last  year  such  outbreaks  of  di.sease  are  known  to  have  occurred  in 
New  York,  Xew  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Vir- 
ginia, Ohio,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  even  in  Dakota.  Colorado 
and  Wyoming  seem  to  have  escaped,  notwithstanding  tlie  introduction 
of  Southern  cattle,  and  this  was  probably  due  to  the  peculiar  cliniiitic 
conditions,  the  excessive  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  i)reveutiiig  the 
multiplication  of  germs  and  soon  destroying  them. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  this  disease  maybe  carried  to  most  parts 
of  the  country,  and  that  before  anything  can  be  accomplished  toward 
preventing  the  very  important  losses  which  are  now  annually  caused  by 
it,  we  must  have  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  section  from  which 
cattle  are  liable  to  carry  the  infection.  To  obtain  the  information  nec- 
essary to  map  out  the  infected  district  special  agents  have  been  em- 
ployed, who  have  carefully  traversed  every  county  along  the  border- 
line of  this  district,  aud  have  investigated  the  cattle  diseases  with  suffi- 
cient detail  to  locate  the  limits  of  the  infected  district  in  most  counties 
with  very  great  accuracy.  In  some  counties  a  sharp  line  cannot  be 
drawn,  because  it  does  not  exist,  but  in  such  cases  the  line  has  been 
drawn  sufficiently  toward  the  uninfected  district  to  embrace,  as  is  be- 
lieved, all  the  territory  that  was  really  infected  at  the  time  of  examina- 
tion. As  this  district  is  being  continually  enlarged  by  a  gradual  though 
very  slow  advance  of  the  infection,  it  is  not  safe  to  buy  cattle  near  this 
line  for  shipment  to  the  North  in  summer,  unless  a  careful  personal  in- 
vestigation is  made  by  the  purchaser  at  the  time. 

The  infected  part  of  tlie  South  is  clearly  shown  on  the  accompanying 
maps.  To  establish  the  boundary-line  of  this  district  beyond  contro- 
versy our  special  agents  have  carefully  reported  the  individual  experi- 
ence of  thousands  of  farmers,  and  others  who  have  moved  cattle  either 
northward  or  southward  in  the  vicinity  of  this  line.  These  reports  are 
far  too  numerous  and  voluminous  to  publish  in  detail,  and,  consequently, 
a  simple  resum^  of  the  facts  as  they  are  known  to  exist  is  all  that  we 
have  attempted  to  give  in  this  report.  The  location  of  the  border-line 
of  the  infected  district  is  as  follows: 

VIRGINIA. 

The  northeastern  extremity  of  the  line  is  in  Accomack  County  on  the 
Atlantic  seal)oard.  Tlie  permanent  existence  of  the  disease  on  this 
]>eninsula  has  not  heretofore  been  suspected  by  the  country  at  large 
A  few  facts  had  come  to  our  notice  within  the  past  year  or  two  -which 
seemed  to  indicate  that  certain  outbreaks  of  southern  fever  in  ^laryland 
had  followed  the  introduction  of  cattle  from  Northampton  County,  which 
covers  the  extreme  southern  i)art  of  the  peninsula.     At  the  time  it 


72  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    AXIMALS. 

seemed  impossible  that  this  disease  could  have  secured  a  peimaueut 
lodgement  so  far  uortli,  and  the  reports  were  scarcely  credited. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  peninsula,  however,  has  demonstrated 
the  existence  of  the  infection  of  southern  catlle  fever  throughout  North- 
ampton County,  and  extending  for  2  or  3  miles  across  the  boundary  into 
the  southern  part  of  Accomack  County.  The  infection  seems  to  have 
been  in  Northampton  County  so  long  that  no  one  remembers  a  time 
when  it  was  absent.  It  is  said  that  there  are  local  laws  prohibiting  the 
movement  of  cattle  from  Northampton  to  Accomack  at  any  season  of 
the  year,  but  that  recently  they  have  not  been  strictly  enforced.  In  1880 
a  considerable  number  of  cattle  that  had  been  running  upon  commons  in 
Accomack  County,  2  or  3  miles  from  the  southern  boundary,  died  with 
symptoms  of  southern  fever.  It  was  found  by  investigation  that  more 
or  less  cattle  had  died  from  pasturing  on  these  commons  every  summer 
for  the  past  ten  years. 

In  April,  1881,  a  drove  of  about  50  head  of  cattle  was  collected  in 
Northampton  County  and  driven  to  market  across  Accomack.  At 
Pungoteague  a  stop  of  several  hours  was  made,  and  here  at  least  six 
head  of  cattle  contracted  the  disease  during  the  following  summer  and 
died.  Two  miles  farther  north  another  halt  was  made  for  dinner,  and 
in  this  vicinity  nine  of  the  native  animals  died.  Twenty  miles  north  of 
this  the  herd  seems  to  have  stopped  again,  and  here  a  large  number  of 
native  cattle  died. 

There  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  doubt,  then,  that  Northampton  County 
has  long  been  infected,  and  that  the  cattle  from  that  section  when 
driven  among  susceptible  animals  produce  the  same  fatal  results  as  has 
long  been  recognized  to  follow  a  similar  movement  of  Texas  and  Gulf- 
coast  cattle.  The  infected  part  of  Accomack  County  is  very  narrow, 
perhaps  not  more  than  5  miles  wide,  and  it  is  said  that  the  disease  is 
more  malignant  toward  the  seacoast  than  it  is  in  the  parts  which  border 
on  the  bay.  This  is  in  harmony  with  the  fact  that  southern  fever  is 
known  to  have  existed  along  the  seacoast  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia 
for  many  years  before  it  invaded  the  interior. 

A  careful  investigation  of  the  counties  north  of  the  Rappahannock 
lliver  failed  to  reveal  any  trace  of  the  disease.  Not  only  were  all  the 
cattle  apparently  in  good  healtli,  but  imported  cattle  had  remained  free 
from  disease  after  their  introduction.  Several  instances  were  related 
of  bulls  being  brought  from  North  or  West  and  continuing  to  thrive  in 
their  new  home.  According  to  all  the  information  attainable,  then, 
there  is  no  permanent  infection  north  of  the  Rappahannock  River. 

Coming  south  of  this  river,  we  iind  that  cattle  brought  from  Glouces- 
ter and  Matthews  Counties  to  sections  of  the  State  farther  north  and 
west  infect  pastures  and  thus  destroy  native  animals.  The  facts  ob- 
tained indicate  that  IMiddlesex  County  has  become  entirely  infected, 
but  we  were  unable  to  ol:)tain  evidence  of  any  [)erinanent  infection  in 
Essex  County.     In  King  and  Queen  County  the  infection  has  reached 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  73 

tbe  pastures  in  tbe  vicinity  of  King  and  Queeu  Court  House  within  the 
last  four  or  five  years,  and  it  now  survives  there  through  the  winter. 
Ten  miles  north  of  this  cattle  are  susceptible  to  the  disease  and  suft'er 
wlien  on  the  same  pastures  with  others  from  south  or  east  of  that  lo- 
cality. While  therefore  the  southeastern  ])art  of  this  county  is  cer- 
tainly infected  the  greater  part  is  still  free.  The  same  phenomena  in 
regard  to  the  extension  of  the  disease  that  has  been  noticed  in  other 
parts  of  the  South  were  also  apparent  here.  The  effects  of  the  disease 
had  been  apparent  for  twenty  years  south  and  east  of  the  court- 
house, but  the  pastures  here  had  not  become  infected  until  about  five 
years  ago,  and  since  then  cattle  have  been  frequently  lost.  In  Caroline 
County  there  was  an  outbreak  of  disease  in  1881  caused  by  cattle  from 
Gloucester  County. 

In  King  William  County  we  find  the  infection  permanently  located 
on  the  Pamunkey  Eiver  8or  10  miles  above  the  Xew  Kent  County  line, 
where  it  seems  to  have  been  for  the  jiast  twenty  years. 

In  Hanover  County  the  permanent  infection  has  been  at  Hanover 
Court  House  and  Ashland  for  a  considerable  number  of  years.  It  is  well 
known  to  the  inhabitants  that  cattle  brought  from  north  or  west  of 
these  places  are  nearly  certain  to  die  either  the  first  or  second  summer 
after  their  arrival.  The  infection  has  extended  but  little  beyond  these 
two  points. 

Henrico  appears  to  be  entirely  overrun  with  the  infection.  All  the 
cattle  sold  from  this  and  the  surrounding  counties  go  to  Richmond  either 
to  be  killed  for  beef  or  to  be  shipped  by  boat  to  other  markets,  and  con- 
sequently there  is  little  opportunity  to  collect  instances  of  disease  caused 
by  cattle  carried  from  here  to  uninfected  localities.  On  the  other  hand  it 
is  admitted  pretty  generally  by  those  who  handle  cattle  that  it  is  very 
dangerous  if  not  absolutely  fatal  to  bring  these  from  the  elevated  sec- 
tions of  the  State  to  any  part  of  this  county. 

In  Goochland  County  there  have  been  very  few  cases  of  disease  for  a 
longtime,  but  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  county  is  recognized 
to  be  dangerous  to  northern  cattle.  Farms  on  the  James  River  three 
or  four  miles  above  Goochland  Court  House  lose  a  few  animals  from 
year  to  year  with  southern  fever.  There  is,  however,  little  opportunity 
for  the  disease  to  occur,  since  the  traftic  in  cattle  is  not  extensive.  Ani- 
mals are  not  brought  from  north  or  west  because  of  their  liability  to  be- 
come affected,  and  they  are  not  brought  from  the  South  because  this  is 
believed  to  be  dangerous  to  the  natives. 

Powhatan  County  is  undoubtedly  infected,  and  has  been  in  this  con- 
dition for  many  years.  It  is  reported  by  all  the  farmers  along  the  James 
Eiver  to  be  absolutely  fatal  to  cattle  to  be  brought  from  north  of  the 
river  to  the  south  side.  They  suffer  to  the  same  extent  when  simply 
carried  from  the  north  to  the  south  bank  as  wjien  the  distance  is  greater. 
Cattle  from  this  county  have  long  been  considereil  dangerous  to  the 
native  stock  with  which  they  came  in  contact  when  being  driven  to  lo- 


74  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

calities  farther  nortli.  The  iiitrod action  of  this  disease  is  not  remem 
bered  by  the  oldest  iuliabitfiuts,  but  so  far  back  as  the  memory-  of  man 
goes  the  present  couditious  have  prevailed. 

Cumberland  County  does  not  appear  (|uite  so  thorouohly  infected. 
At  Trenton  Mills  and  McRea's  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  permanent  infec- 
tion, but  the  southern  extremity  of  the  county  still  seems  to  be  free  from 
it.  In  the  counties  along  the  river  it  is  very  plain  that  the  sections 
immediately  adjacent  to  the  river  have  been  longer  infected  and  tha 
the  disease  here  is  more  generally  diffused  and  more  virulent  than  in 
the  same  counties  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  water.  And  accord 
iuglj-  as  we  attempt  to  investigate  the  condition  of  other  sections  we 
encounter  the  difflculty  of  tinding  a  smaller  numberof  cases  and  a  greater 
uncertainty  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  as  to  whether  the  native 
pastures  really  hold  the  infection  from  yearto  year,  or  whether  each  out- 
break is  the  result  of  a  fresh  importation. 

In  Buckingham  County  our  reports  confirm  the  statements  that  were 
made  last  year.  The  infection  extends  ui>  the  south  bank  of  the  James 
River  to  a  point  slightly  beyond  the  confluence  of  the  James  and  Slate 
Rivers.  From  here  the  boundary  line  of  the  infected  district  passes  up 
along  the  west  bank  of  the  Slate  to  Diana  Mills;  then  the  direction  is  a 
southeastern  one  to  the  vicinity  of  ( rravel  Hill,  and  to  McRea's,  in  Cum- 
berland County. 

In  Amelia  and  Xottoway  Counties  it  has  been  impossible  to  trace  any 
line  or  even  to  demonstrate  the  complete  infection  of  the  territory.  It 
is  generally  admitted  that  twenty  years  ago  and  longer  tliere  was  a 
complete  infection  of  this  district,  but  of  late  years  there  has  been  much 
less  disease  and  it  has  become  possible  to  bring  in  cattle  from  north  and 
west  with  safety.  In  these  counties  there  are  no  fences,  and  each  man 
must  necessarily  keep  his  cattle  upon  his  own  pastures ;  as  a  conse- 
quence there  is  none  of  the  indiscriminate  mixing  of  cattle  which  used 
to  occur,  and  the  chances  of  contagion  are  greatly  lessened. 

While  there  have  been  considerable  losses  in  Prince  Edward  County 
there  is  little  evidence  of  permanent  infection,  except,  perhaps,  in  the 
extreme  eastern  part.  Most  of  the  cases  seem  to  have  been  the  result 
of  i^asturing  on  commons  that  had  been  frequented  by  animals  from 
Lunenburg  County. 

In  Lunenburg  there  is  no  doubt  of  permanent  infection.  It  is  dan- 
gerous to  bring  cattle  from  west  or  north  into  this  county,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  cattle  from  this  county  have  frequently  spread  disease  when 
<lriven  toward  the  west  or  north. 

In  Charlotte  County  the  boundary  of  infection  becomes  plainer  and 
follows  very  ne  irly  the  linc^  of  the  Richmond  and  Danville  Railroad  in 
its  whole  course  across  the  county. 

From  the  point  where  this  railroad  crosses  the  Staunton  River  to  the 
North  Carolina  boundary,  the  line  of  infection  was  delinitely  located  in 
my  last  year's  report.     The  accompanying  map  delineates  the  portion 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  75 

of  Virginia  permaueDtly  infected  with  southern  cattle  fever  as  correctlj' 
as  this  could  possibly  be  done.  Parts  of  the  line  have  been  retraced 
three  and  four  times  iu  order  to  have  it  satisfactorily  located. 

NORTH   CAROLINA. 

The  Blue  Kidge  Mountains  of  Xorth  Carolina  are  now  looked  upon 
by  the  i)eoi)le  of  this  State  as  the  practical  boundary  line  of  the  district 
permanently  infected  with  southern  fever.  At  some  points,  as  in 
Wilkes  County,  the  infection  has  not  quite  reached  the  mountains,  and 
at  one  other  point  it  has  crossed  the  ridge  and  invaded  Henderson 
County.  The  laws  of  the  State,  however,  make  the  Blue  Ridge  the  line, 
and  prohibit  the  movement  of  cattle  from  the  eastern  counties  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year. 

SOUTH   CAROLINA    AND    GEORGIA. 

The  whole  territory  of  South  Carolina  seems  to  have  been  overrun 
with  this  infection.  The  Blue  Eidge  ^lountains,  which  form  a  part  of 
the  northwestern  boundary  of  the  State,  have  here  been  crossed  by  this 
contagion  and  are  no  longer  to  b:  considered  as  the  line.  The  infected 
district  beyond  these  mountains  is,  however,  at  present  of  small  extent, 
and  the  advance  is  so  slow  as  to  be  scarcely  appreciable. 

The  small  portion  of  Georgia  which  has  heretofore  been  considered 
free  from  this  infection  is  being  rapidly  overrun;  and  it  is  now  doubt- 
ful if  any  of  even  the  northern  tier  of  counties  can  be  considered  entirely 
free.  The  mountain  sec  ions  are  no:  so  thoroughly-  infected,  and  it  is 
])robable  that  Towns,  Union,  and  Fannin  Counties  are  practically  fi'ee 
from  the  i)ermaneut  infection. 

Whitfield  and  Murray  Counties  have  been  quite  thoroughly  inspected 
and  the  commons  of  both  found  to  be  infected  in  all  parts.  Many  of 
the  farms  are  also  infected,  but  some  still  remain  free,  especially  near 
the  northern  boundary.  Cattle  taken  from  these  counties  to  the  mount- 
ain ranges  of  Gilmer  for  pa  stnre  have  not  so  far  as  has  been  ascertained 
caused  any  outbreaks  of  disease.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
Gilmer  County  is  also  pretty  thoroughly  overrun. 

Here,  as  in  many  other  localities,  there  are  evidences  of  a  different  in- 
tensity of  the  contagion  in  various  parts  of  the  counties,  but  more  par- 
ticularly in  different  sections  of  the  State.  Thus,  cattle  which  have 
pastured  on  the  ordinary  infected  ranges  of  Whitfield  County  without 
harm,  have  become  diseased  as  a  consequence  of  feeding  along  the  trails 
and  on  the  commons  where  cattle  from  Southern  Georgia  had  lately 
grazed.  The  movement  of  bovine  animals  from  one  farm  to  another  or 
from  one  county  to  another  is  also  considere<l  dangerous.  The  fatigue 
induced  by  driving  is  without  doubt  one  of  the  factors  in  producing 
the  disease  in  such  cases.  Even  cattle  from  the  extreme  south  often 
succumb  whe  ;  exhausted  by  long  journeys.  Similar  facts  have  long 
been  noticed  with  other  dise.ases,  and  particularly  witli  antlirax.  cattle 


76  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMES  TICATED    ANIMALS. 

whicb  have  resisted  the  coutagiou  ou  the  infected  farms  becoming  vic- 
tims to  the  virus  already  within  their  bodies,  when  their  vital  resistance 
is  lowered  by  great  fatigue. 

At  Dalton  there  is  a  probability  that  permanent  infection  existed  be- 
fore the  war,  but  not  to  the  same  extent  as  at  present.  The  cattle 
driven  from  South  Georgia  to  provision  the  armies,  and  later  those 
brought  by  the  refugees  returning  to  their  homes,  are  believed  to  have 
been  the  means  of  distributing  and  intensifying  thecontagion  throughout 
Northwest  Georgia. 

TENNESSEE. 

The  line  of  the  infected  district  crosses  the  boundary  line  between 
Georgia  and  Tennessee  near  the  western  slope  of  the  mountains,  and  fol- 
lows a  northwesterly  direction  to  Parkville  and  Benton,  in  Polk  County; 
then  its  direction  is  nearly  directly  west  to  Cleveland,  Bradley  County, 
and  to  Snow  Hill  and  Harrison,  in  James  County.  From  this  point  the 
river  becomes  the  line  across  Hamilton  County,  Chattanooga  and  the 
Chickamauga  Valley  having  been  infected  for  a  long  time.  The  south- 
western part  of  Polk  and  the  southern  parts  of  Bradley,  James,  and 
Hamilton  Counties  are,  tlierefore,  permanently  infected.  The  district 
infected  is  here,  as  we  have  found  to  be  the  case  elsewhere,  extending 
slowly  toward  the  north ;  and  though  this  extension  is  slow  it  is  ap- 
parently continuous,  and  the  territory  once  overrun  is  seldom  redeemed 
from  the  scourge.  The  points  which  we  have  mentioned  as  existing  on 
the  border  line  of  the  district  have  only  been  infected  within  a  few 
years,  and,  as  elsewhere  in  newly  infected  sections,  it  is  the  commons 
rather  than  the  farms  that  are  dangerous,  and  even  the  commons  are 
uot  uniformly  affected. 

In  Marion  County  the  line  of  infection  passes  in  a  northwesterly  di- 
rection up  the  east  side  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley  and  within  one  or  two 
miles  of  the  Sequatchie  County  line,  and  then  crosses  the  valley  and 
down  the  west  side  for  five  or  ten  miles,  passing  around  the  mountain 
range  and  taking  a  southwesterly  direction  to  the  vicinity  of  Jasper ; 
from  here  the  direction  is  again  northwesterly  to  Decherd,  in  Franklin 
County,  the  greater  part  of  this  county  being  apparently  permanently 
infected.  From  Decherd  the  diiectiou  of  the  line  is  slightly  south  of 
west  to  Fayetteville,  in  Lincoln  County,  and  trom  this  point  along  the 
Elk  River  to  the  Alabama  State  line  in  the  vicinity  of  Veto  Station. 
The  southern  part  of  Lincoln  County  is  what  is  called  the  barren  region, 
and  has  been  infected  for  many  years.  In  the  vicinity  of  Marbut's  the 
line  again  crosses  into  Tennessee,  taking  a  northwestern  direction,  and 
at  the  county  line  between  Giles  and  Lawrence  Counties  is  about  five 
miles  north  of  the  Alabama  State  line.  On  the  boundary  between  Law- 
rence and  Wayne  Counties  this  line  is  10  miles  north  of  Alabama.  At 
this  point  there  is  a  sudden  l)end  toward  the  north,  the  line  crossing  to 
the  northwestern  corner  of  Wayne  County,  taking  in  about  one  fifth  of 


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SOUTHERN    CATTLE    FEVER 
in  Virginia. 

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By  D.E. Salmon, D.V.M 

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inTennessee  and  Alabama 
By  D  E.Salman. D.V.M. 

M  I  S         S. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  77 

Decatur  County  and  all  of  Harden.  In  Henderson  County  it  reaches 
as  far  north  as  Shady  Hill,  then  passes  directly  west  to  the  vicinity  of 
Mifflin,  in  the  same  county.  From  here  the  direction  is  slightly  south 
of  west  to  Denmark,  the  boundary  between  Madison  being  crossed  2 
miles  north  of  Hardeman  County;  from  here  the  direction  is  westerly 
to  Stanton  Depot,  in  Haywood  County,  and  onward  toward  the  south- 
western corner  of  Haywood  and  along  the  northern  boundary  of  Shelby 
to  the  Mississippi  lliver.  All  of  Shelby  and  Fayette  Counties  appear 
to  be  infected,  while  Tipton,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  is  free 
from  any  infection. 

This  concludes  our  examination  of  the  district  permanently  infected 
with  southern  cattle  fever  for  the  year.  It  will  be  seen  that  a  consider- 
able portion  of  Tennessee  has  already  become  infected.  Even  the  mount- 
ainous counties  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State  have  been  in- 
vaded, while  in  the  river  valleys  ofthecentriil  part  of  the  State  the  line 
has  reached  considerably  farther  toward  the  north.  Along  the  whole 
line  of  the  infected  district  in  this  State,  as  in  the  other  States  previ- 
ously examined,  we  have  found  the  same  history  of  the  extension  of 
of  the  permanently-infected  district.  At  some  points  this  extension 
has  been  insignificant  or  is  scarcely  noticeable  within  the  last  quar. 
ter  of  a  century,  but  in  the  situations  more  favorable  to  the  progress 
of  the  disease  there  has  apparently  been  a  regular  advance  of  from  one 
to  four  miles  per  year.  This  history  coincides  substantially  with  what 
was  learned  of  the  progress  of  the  disease  in  Virginia,  Xorth  Carolina, 
and  Georgia.  As  a  consequence  of  these  facts  there  can  be  no  longer 
substantial  reason  to  doubt  the  continued  extension  toward  the  north 
of  the  district  permanently  infected  with  this  disease.  Considering  the 
extreme  temperature  which  occurs  in  the  mountains  of  southeastern 
Tennessee  and  in  the  part  of  this  State  located  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
we  can  scarcely  hope  that  the  winters  in  any  considerable  part  of  the 
stock-raising  section  of  the  country  will  be  sufliciently  severe  to  prove 
a  permanent  check  to  the  extension  of  this  contagion. 

It  is  proposed  to  continue  the  examination  of  this  district  across  Arkan- 
sas, Indian  Territory,  and  Texas,  to  the  Rio  Grande  Hi  ver,  and  it  is  believed 
that  a  detinite  location  of  this  line  will  be  of  great  assistance  to  those  en- 
gaged in  the  live-stock  industry  in  the  whole  southwestern  part  of  the  coun- 
try. The  mortality  among  thoroughbred  cattle  taken  south  of  the  border 
line  of  the  i)ermanently  infected  district  is  so  great  that  it  has  become  a 
matter  of  importance  to  buy  animals  which  have  acquired  a  certain 
amount  of  immunity  from  this  disease.  It  is  believed  by  many  breed- 
ers that  by  establishing  breeding  farms  just  within  the  line  of  infection 
that  there  will  be  a  smaller  mortality  from  the  disease,  and  that  the 
animals  raised  under  these  conditions  will  still  be  able  to  resist  its  ef- 
fects in  a  very  [lerfect  manner.  Abeady  such  farms  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Southeast  Kansas  and  Southern  Missouri,  under  the  bebef  that 
animals  raised  in   this  locaHty  will   prove  insusceptible  to  the  disease 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  77 

Decatur  County  aud  all  of  Harden.  In  Henderson  County  it  reaches 
as  far  north  as  Shady  Hill,  then  passes  directly  west  to  the  vicinity  of 
Mifflin,  in  the  same  county.  From  here  the  direction  is  slightly  south 
of  west  to  Denmark,  the  boundary  between  Madison  being-  crossed  2 
miles  north  of  Hardeman  County;  from  here  the  direction  is  westerly 
to  Stanton  Depot,  in  Haywood  County,  and  onward  toward  the  south- 
western corner  of  Haywood  and  along  the  northern  boundary  of  Shelby 
to  the  Mississippi  Itiver.  All  of  Shelby  and  Fayette  Counties  appear 
to  be  infected,  while  Tipton,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  is  free 
from  any  infection. 

This  concludes  our  examination  of  the  district  permanently  infected 
with  southern  cattle  fever  for  the  year.  It  will  be  seen  that  a  consider- 
able portion  of  Tennessee  has  already  become  infected.  Even  the  mount- 
ainous counties  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State  have  been  in- 
vaded, while  in  the  river  valleys  ofthecentra.1  part  of  the  State  the  line 
has  reached  considerably  farther  toward  the  north.  Along  the  whole 
line  of  the  infected  district  in  this  State,  as  in  the  other  States  previ- 
ously examined,  we  have  found  the  same  history  of  the  extension  of 
of  the  permanently-infected  district.  At  some  points  this  extension 
has  been  insignificant  or  is  scarcely  noticeable  within  the  last  quar. 
ter  of  a  century,  but  in  the  situations  more  favorable  to  the  progress 
of  the  disease  there  has  apparently  been  a  regular  advance  of  from  one 
to  four  miles  per  year.  This  history  coincides  substantially  with  what 
was  learned  of  the  progress  of  the  disease  in  Virginia,  Xorth  Carolina, 
and  Georgia.  As  a  consequence  of  these  facts  there  can  be  no  longer 
substantial  reason  to  doubt  the  continued  extension  toward  the  north 
of  the  district  permanently  infected  with  this  disease.  Considering  the 
extreme  temi^erature  which  occurs  in  the  mountains  of  southeastern 
Tennessee  and  in  the  part  of  this  State  located  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
we  can  scarcely  hope  that  the  winters  in  any  considerable  part  of  the 
stock-raising  section  of  the  country  will  be  sufficiently  severe  to  i)rove 
a  permanent  check  to  the  extension  of  this  contagion. 

It  is  proposed  to  continue  the  examination  of  this  district  across  Arkan- 
sas, Indian  Territory,  aud  Texas,  to  the  Rio  Grande  111  ver,  and  it  is  believed 
that  a  definite  location  of  this  line  will  be  of  great  assistance  to  those  en- 
gaged in  the  live-stock  industry  in  the  whole  southwestern  part  of  the  coun- 
try. The  mortality  among  thoroughbred  cattle  taken  south  of  the  border 
line  of  the  permanently  infected  district  is  so  great  that  it  has  become  a 
matter  of  importance  to  buy  animals  which  have  acquired  a  certain 
amount  of  immunity  from  this  disease.  It  is  believed  by  many  breed- 
ers that  by  establishing  breeding  farms  Just  within  the  line  of  infection 
that  there  will  be  a  smaller  mortality  from  the  disease,  and  that  the 
animals  raised  under  these  conditions  will  still  be  able  to  resist  its  ef- 
fects in  a  very  perfect  manner.  Already  such  farms  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Southeast  Kansas  and  Southern  Missouri,  under  the  belief  that 
animals  raised  in   this  lo<^ality  will   prove  insusceptible  to  the  disease 


78  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

when  carried  further  south,  but  the  great  uncertainty  which  at  present 
exists  witli  regard  to  the  exact  location  of  this  line  makes  it  extremely 
doul)tful  if  these  farms  have  been  correctly  located.  A  numl)er  of  ex- 
tensive breeders  who  have  a  very  intelligent  idea  of  the  nature  and 
effects  of  this  disease  have  recently  expressed  to  me  their  high  appre- 
ciation of  the  work  now  being  done  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
toward  establishing  the  boundary  of  this  infected  district.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  definite  knowledge  in  regard  to  this  will  relieve  them  from 
many  of  the  causes  of  embarrassment  connected  with  the  shipment  of 
thoroughbred  cattle  to  the  South. 


INVESTIGATIONS  OF  SWINE  PLAGUE. 

In  a  communication  of  M.  Pasteur  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences 
(Comptes  Rendus,  1883,  p,  11G3)  it  was  asserted : 

1.  That  the  microbe  of  swine  plague  is  a  dumb-bell  micrococcus. 

2.  That  pigeons  are  very  susceptible  to  the  virus,  and  passing  this 
through  a  succession  of  these  birds  increases  its  activity. 

3.  That  rabbits  are  also  suscei)tible,  and  passing  the  virus  through 
a  succession  of  these  animals  attenuates  it  to  such  an  extent  that  if  pigs 
are  inoculated  with  it  they  only  contract  a  slight  illness  which  grants 
them  immunity  from  subsequent  attacks. 

To  these  assertions  Dr.  Klein  (Vet.  Jr.,  1884,  July,  p.  39)  replies  : 

1.  That  M.  Pasteur  has  overlooked  the  true  microbe,  and  that  this  is 
a  bacillus  and  not  a  micrococcus. 

2.  That  all  of  his  (Klein's)  inoculations  of  pigeons  with  virus  taken 
directly  from  diseased  swine — virus  which  invariably  produces  the  dis- 
ease in  swine  and  other  susceptible  animaLs — and  with  his  artificial  cul- 
tures of  the  organism  of  swine  fever,  produced  absolutely  no  effect, 
either  general  or  local. 

3.  That  it  is  impossible  to  say  whethei'  M.  Pasteur's  rabbits  died  of 
swine  fever  or  of  septicjvmia,  though  he  (Klein)  had  shown  in  1877  that 
rabbits  are  susceptible  to  swine  fever  when  inoculated  from  material 
directly  derived  from  the  pig. 

4.  He  adds  in  an  addendum  that  he  has  recently  satisfied  himself 
that  the  artiticial  cultivation  of  the  virus  in  the  organs  of  mice  or  ral)- 
bits  by  inoculating  these  from  diseased  swine  will  produce  a  mild  form 
of  swine  plague  from  which  the  animal  quickly  recovers,  aiul  is  thereby 
I)rotected  from  the  disease. 

It  is  very  evident  that  before  any  safe  method  of  protective  inocula- 
tion or  vaccination  can  be  adopted  we  must  be  satisfied  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  virus,  liabbits  and  mice  are  both  subject  to  septic;emia,  and 
it  is  quite  certain,  from  the  difference  in  the  microscopical  appearance 
of  the  germ  describe<l  by  these  two  inve^stigators,  that  either  the  one  or 
the  other  had  cultivated  and  inoculated  with  a  septic  virus.     Dr.  Klein 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  79 

(k)es  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  seems  probable  to  liini  that,  "  as  in  the 
case  of  the  microbe  of  fowl  cholera,  M.  Pasteur  did  not  work  with  pure 
cultivations  of  the  microbe  of  swine  fever."  M.  Pasteur  will  doubtless 
say,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Dr.  Klein  has  evidently  been  cultivating  and 
inoculating  with  the  septic  vibrio.  Both  cannot  be  right  in  their  belief 
that  they  have  been  working  with  the  true  germ,  and,  consequently,  it 
is  very  probable  that  both  sets  of  hogs  were  not  protected  from  the 
genuine  swine  plague.  Each  has  made  many  inoculation  experiments, 
each  has  cultivated  his  germ  througii  a  number  of  cultivations  in  purity 
as  he  supposes,  and  each  believes  tliat  he  has  produced  the  true  swine 
plague  with  such  cultivations;  but  one  of  tliem  is  wrong;  vaccination 
with  tlie  virus  of  one  will  fail  in  practice,  and  if  the  wrong  virus  is  so 
ea.xily  obtained  it  becomes  doubly  important  to  know  how  to  discrimi- 
nate between  them. 

In  former  reports  I  have  given  details  of  experiments  which,  if  correctly 
stated,  demonstrate  beyond  <iuestion  that  the  microbe  of  swine  plague 
is  a  micrococcus.  These  experiments  were  made  and  the  accounts  of 
them  published  in  advance  of  those  of  M.  Pasteur,  and  the  evidence 
furnished  was  all  that  could  reasonably  be  required  to  decide  a  scientific 
question  of  this  kind.  Dr.  Klein,  however,  has  published  evidence  which 
on  its  face  is  equally  conclusive  in  his  favor;  and  as  it  is  not  likely  that 
two  ditterent  diseases  resembling  each  other  so  closely  in  symptoms  and 
lesions,  but  having  such  dissimilar  virus,  have  been  investigated,  the 
most  reasonable  conclusion  is  that  one  is  mistaken  in  his  conclusio  •.  It 
is  necessary,  therefore,  to  review  certain  points  in  the  investigations  and 
to  bring  forward  such  new  evidence  as  shall  be  required  to  remove  these 
uncertainties. 

1.  The  microbe  of  swine  plague . — As  1  have  shown  elsewhere  {Science^ 
1884,  p.  155)  Dr.  Klein  was  first  to  demonstrate  the  presence  of  micrococci 
in  the  tissues  of  animals  that  had  suffered  from  swine  plague,  but  he  did 
not  at  that  time  (1876)  attribute,  nor  has  he  at  any  time  subsequently  at- 
tributed, the  cause  of  the  disease  to  this  organism.  On  the  contrary,  he 
l)ublished  a  long  series  of  investigations  in  1878  (report  of  the  medical 
officer  of  the  Local  Government  Board)  from  which  he  concluded  that 
the  true  germ  of  this  disease  is  a  bacillus,  and  in  his  last  paper  reiterates 
this  conclusion  and  asserts  that  the  micrococcus  is  entirely  an  epiphe- 
iiomenon  (Vet.  Journal,  Jul^',  1884,  j).  30-47). 

In  my  report  for  1880  (Department  of  Agriculture,  Special  Beport  Xo. 
.'Jl,  PI).  22-24),  I  i)ublished  experiments  showing  that  the  blood  of  sick, 
not  dead,  hogs,  which  had  been  received  into  vacuum  tubes  that  were 
thrust  inside  the  vein  with  proper  precautions  before  being  o[)ened.  and 
were  then  immediately  withdrawn  and  hermetically  sealed,  contained 
micrococci  and  no  other  organisms,  and  that  hogs  inoculated  with  this 
blood  c(Mitra(-ted  a  severe  form  of  swint'  plagui'.  This  organism  was 
found  to  exist  in  the  virulent  liipiids  (blood,  jteritoneal  etlusion,  ikv.],  in 
three  distinct  outl)reaks  of  the  <lisease  which  were  investigated  at  that 


80  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

time.  This  was  the  first  discovery  recorded,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  of 
the  existence  of  micrococci  iu  the  blood  of  the  affected  swine  before 
death;  and  it  has  a  very  important  bearing  on  the  etiology  of  the  dis- 
ease, since  a  post  mortem  development  of  the  germs  is  out  of  the  question 
and  they  were  found  in  situations  to  which  there  was  no  direct  communi- 
cation from  the  outside  of  the  body. 

In  my  next  report  (Department  of  Agriculture,  xVnnual  Report,  18S1 
and  1882,  pp.  267-209)  I  gave  the  details  of  experiments  which  dem- 
onstrated that  these  micrococci  after  they  had  been  carried  through  six 
cultivations  in  considerable  quantities  of  liquid  were  still  capable  of 
producing  very  marked  cases  of  the  disease.  This  was,  I  believe, 
the  first  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  pathogenic  effect  of  the  micrococci 
in  the  disease  known  as  swine  plague;  and  I  desire  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  these  inoculations  were  made  January  17,  1881,  or  more 
than  fourteen  months  before  tlie  discovery  of  the  same  organism  by  M. 
Pasteur  and  Thuillier. 

To  establish  the  connection  of  the  bacilli  with  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
ease, Dr.  Klein  relies  upon  the  following  evidence: 

1.  The  presence  of  bacilli  in  microscopic  sections  of  the  tissues. 

2.  The  multiplication  of  bacilli  in  the  artificial  cultures  of  the  virus. 

3.  The  production  of  disease  by  inoculations  with  the  cultivated 
bacilli. 

He  has  not  forgotten  that  in  his  first  report  he  described  micrococci 
and  not  bacilli  as  existing  in  the  tissues,  but  there  is  an  evident  attempt 
to  explain  this  by  conveying  the  impression  that  these  were  found  ex- 
clusively in  situations  where  they  might  be  derived  from  external  sources. 
For  instance,  in  his  last  paper  (Vet.  Journal,  July,  1884,  p.  41)  he  says  : 

Preparing  sectious  through  the  typically  ulcerated  mucous  membrane  of  the  large 
intestine,  staining  these  in  aniline  dyes,  and  examining  them  under  the  microscope, 
I  liud  this  :  In  the  superficial  parts  of  the  necrosed  membrane  are  present  large  num- 
bers of  micrococci  of  various  kinds,  chiefly  varying  in  the  size  of  the  elements  and 
in  the  mode  of  aggregation.  These  micrococci  stain  well  in  Spiller's  purple  and  in 
methyl  blue,  and  are  present  only  in  the  necrotic  parts  of  the  ulceration,  iu  which 
they  appear  irregularly  distributed.  But  iu  the  depth  of  the  tissue,  and  extending  iu 
many  cases  into  the  inflamed  stib-mucous  tissue,  are  seen  streaks  and  clumps  of 
minute  rod-shaped  bacteria,  which  coincide  as  regards  size  (length  and  thickness) 
with  the  bacilli  which  I  described  iu  my  former  memoir,  the  single  organisms  being 
about  0.001  to  0  004  "■'".  long,  and  about  a  third  or  a  fourth  as  thick. 

In  his  first  report  he  described  the  situation  of  the  micrococci  in  the 
intestine  somewhat  aiftereutly,  as  follows: 

From,  and  even  before  the  first  signs  of  necrosis  of  the  mucosa,  viz.,  when  the 
ei»ithelium  begins  to  break  down  and  be  shed  from  the  surface,  there  are  found  masses 
of  micrococci,  wliich  iu  some  ulcers  occupy  a  gn-at  portion  of  d(Sbris.  (Report  of  the 
medical  officer  of  the  privy  council  and  local  government  board,  187G,  p.  98.) 

Again,  in  regard  to  the  ulcerations  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
tongue,  he  says  in  his  last  report : 

I  have  seen  in  the  superficial  parts  of  the  ulcers  large  clumps  of  micrococci,  but  in 
the  depth  of,  and  extending  between  the  iiiflame<l  muscular  tissue  1  have  found  the 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS,  81 

same  rod-shaped  organisms  as  mentioned  above  ;  tliey  are  cliiefly  in  spaces  between 
the  bundles  of  the  intiamed  connective  tissue,  forming  hei'e  streaks  of  longer  or  shorter 
chains.     (Page  42.) 

lu  his  first  report  this  was  stated  as  follows: 

In  the  ulceration  of  the  tongue  just  mentioned,  and  at  a  time  when  the  superficial 
scab  has  not  been  i-emoved,  I  have  seen  masses  of  micrococci  situate  chiefly  in  the  tissue 
of  the  papilhe,  but  at  some  places  reaching  as  far  deep  as  the  inflammation  extends. 
(Page  99.) 

In  regard  to  the  similar  lesions  of  the  epiglotis  the  following  lan- 
guage was  used : 

I  have  before  rue  preparations  through  the  epiglottis,  the  submucosa  of  the  pos- 
terior surface  being  in  a  state  of  necrosis,  and  near  the  edge  so  broken  down  as  to 
eave  there  a  deep  ulcer,  while  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  anterior  surface  is  only 
slightly  inflamed  in  its  submucous  tissue ;  in  this  1  find  lymphatic  vessels  filled  with 
micrococci,  &c.     (Pau;e  100.) 

As  to  the  appearance  of  the  lung  his  last  report  says  : 

Sections  through  the  diseased  ])arts  of  the  lung  reveal,  in  preparations  stained  as 
above,  the  iireseuce  of  large  numbers  of  micrococci  in  the  cavity  of  the  bronchi  and 
air  vesicles,  but  not  in  all  lungs,  since  I  have  fouud  lungs  in  which  they  were  alto- 
gether absent.  But  there  are  always  present  in  larger  or  smaller  clumps  the  same 
minute  rod-shaped  organisms  as  mentioned  above.  They  are  imbedded  in  a  coagulum 
filling  the  air  vesicles,  or  they  block  up  a  blood-vessel  in  the  wall  of  a  bronchiole  or 
air  vesicle.  In  the  air  vesicles  I  have  seen  exudation  cells,  white-blood  corpuscles  coa- 
taining  clumps  of  the  rods  ;  they  are  well  brought  out  by  Spiller's  ptirple.  In  the  air 
vesicles  of  some  lungs  I  have  seen  them  grow  to  very  long  chains,  leptotbrix,  ten, 
twenty,  and  more  times  the  leiigth  of  the  single  rods.  These  rods  were  present,  not 
only  in  the  air  vesicles,  but  also  in  the  tissue  itself,  both  of  the  walls  of  the  air  vesicles 
as  well  as  of  the  smaller  or  larger  bronchi.     (Pages  41,  42.) 

In  his  first  report  there  is  a  most  radical  difference  in  the  description 
of  the  situation  where  the  micrococci  were  seen  : 

In  the  infiltrated,  firm,  more  or  less  disintegrating  parts  I  find  great  masses  of  mi- 
crococci filling  up  capillaries  and  veins,  and  also  con tainedinlj'uiphaticsaround  arteries. 
They  may  be  found  also  in  minor  bronchi  which  have  been  completly  blocked  up  by 
cheesy  inflammatory  products,  but  there  the  masses  of  micrococci,  conspicuous  by 
|heir  blue  coloration  in  ha*matoxylin  preparations,  are  generally  present  in  greater  or- 
smaller  lumps  between  the  outer  surface  of  the  plug  and  the  wall  of  the  bronchus. 

The  pleura  is  much  swollen,  and  contains  great  numbers,  continuous  layers,  of  lumps 
of  micrococci.  The  free  surface  of  the  membrane  is  in  many  parts  covered  with  them. 
The  exudation  fluid  is  also  charged  with  them,  as  has  been  mentioned  above.  (Pages 
100.101.) 

That  is  to  say,  in  187G,  Dr.  Klein  was  able  to  tind  the  micrococci  not 
Hilly  in  the  necrotic  parts  of  the  ulcerations,  but  he  found  them  from  and 
hc/'orc  the  first  s!(/ns  of  ufcrosls;  he  found  them  extend in(/  as  deep  into  the 
tissue  of  the  tont/ne  as  the  injianimation  extended,  and  in  the  epiglottis  at 
I'  point  ichere  the  submucous  tissue  was  only  slightly  inflamed  he  found  the 
lijinphatic  vessels  filed,  ivith  mieroeocei.  lu  the  lungs,  instead  of  the 
iiiicTococci  being  confined  to  the  cavity  of  the  air  vesicles  and  bronchj 
as  he  desires  us  to  understand  from  his  last  report,  he  really  found  them 
/■//  the  infiltrated  and  firm  parts,  filling  up  capillaries,  reins  and  lymphatics, 
Tliey  had  even  penetrated  to  the  pleura  ichich  contained  great  numbers 
5751  D  A V) 


82  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

and  continuoxis  layers  of  them  ;  the  free  siirface  icas  covered  with  them,  and 
the  exudation  fidd  icas  charged  with  them.  Their  jiresence  iu  tbe  pleural 
effusion  is  sufficient  evidence  that  cross-section  of  bacilli  had  not  been 
mistaken  for  micrococci  in  the  tissues;  and  it  may,  consequently,  be 
accepted  as  beyond  question  that  this  organism  existed  at  the  points 
named  in  the  report  of  1876. 

In  the  last  report  it  is  stated  that  the  rods  (bacilli)  are  found  "  in  the 
bronchial  exudation,  in  the  juice  of  the  lung  tissue,  in  the  peritoneal 
exudation,  and  occasionally,  but  not  generally,  also  in  the  blood  already 
in  the  fresh  state."  Sections  made  through  the  fresh  or  hardened, 
swollen  mesenteric  and  inguinal  lymph  glands  are  said  to  reveal  the 
presence  of  clumps  of  the  same  minute  rod-shaped  organisms.  Look- 
lug  at  a  clump  of  these  organisms,  one  imagines  them  at  first  to  be  a 
zooglo'a  of  micrococci,  but  using  oil-immersion  lenses  and  Abbe's  sub- 
stage  condenser  it  becomes  certain  that  they  are  undoubted  rods — some 
smooth  and  uniform,  others  more  or  less  "  beaded." 

In  the  results  of  the  examination  of  the  tissues  it  will  be  seen  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  lymph  glands  mentioned,  the  bacilli  of  the 
last  report  have  little  if  any  advantage  in  situation  over  the  micrococci 
of  the  first  report.  And  if  we  consider  that  the  organisms  of  these 
glands  so  closely  resemble  micrococci  that  it  requires  oil-immersion  lenses 
and  an  Abbe  condenser  to  make  a  distinction,  and  that  even  under  such 
favorable  conditions  some  of  the  rods  are  more  or  less  "  beaded,"  the 
reader  will  not  feel  so  certain  that  they  are  undoubted  rods  .as  is  Dr. 
Klein. 

The  examination  of  the  tissues  of  mice  and  rabbits  which  have  died 
after  inoculation  with  the  more  or  less  septic  liquid  of  dead  hogs  can- 
not be  accepted  as  throwing  any  satisfactory  light  on  so  difticult  a  problem, 
since  others  cannot  fail  to  have  the  same  doubts  in  regard  to  Dr.  Klein's 
experimental  animals  that  this  gentleman  is  so  free  to  express  in  regard 
to  those  of  M.  Pasteur.  The  question  as  to  the  organisms  fouiul  in  the 
tissues  of  animals  so  susceptible  to  various  forms  of  septicaemia  as  mice 
and  rabbits  after  they  have  been  iuoculated  with  morbid  products  from 
hogs  which  have  died  of  a  disease  in  which  local  necrosis  and  gangrene 
i^  not  uncommon,  is  one  which  can  only  complicate  the  real  issue  with-  J| 
out  in  any  sense  elucidating  it.  Indeed,  when  Dr.  Klein  tells  us  that  } 
he. has  "  seen  a  good  many  pigs  inoculated  with  culture  of  the  bacterium 
of  swine  fever,  which  beyond  the  swelling  of  the  glands  and  beyond  a 
transitory  riseof  the  body  temperatuieon  the  second  andthirdday,  by  one 
or  even  two  degrees  C,  showed  no  other  sigus,"  we  have  strong  suspi- 
cions that  the  slight  trouble  produced  was  of  a  septic  nature  rather  than 
a  mild  attack  of  the  destructive  swine  plague.  The  period  of  incubation 
in  swine  plague  is  much  longer  than  that  of  septicaemia  ;  sometimes  it  is  S| 
three  weeks  ;  generally  it  is  i'rom  twelve  days  to  two  weeks,  and  it  is  only 
by  the  use  of  enormous  doses  of  virus  that  1  have  succeeded  in  reducing 
it  to  four  or  five  days  ;  and,  therefore,  when  we  are  told  that  in  these 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  83 


mild  attacks  the  period  of  incubation  was  but  two  or  three  days,  and 
that  in  at  least  one  case  there  was  a  rise  of  temperature  within  twenty- 
four  hours  [Ibid.,  p.  ^3),  the  appearances  are  certainly  very  much  more 
in  favor  of  septic.emia  than  swine  plague.  Certain  it  is  that  in  none  of 
my  numerous  inoculation  experiments  has  there  been  a  rise  of  temper- 
ature within  so  short  a  time.  As  I  write  this  I  have  just  returned  from 
making  Apost  mortem  examination  of  a  pig  killed  in  the  last  stages  of 
the  acute  form  of  the  disease  ;  this  was  one  of  a  lot  of  three  inoculated 
with  a  virus  so  virulent  that  not  one  of  a  considerable  number  of  swine 
that  have  been  inoculated  with  it  during  the  last  three  months  has  re- 
covered. With  so  virulent  a  virus  one  would  expect  the  incubation  to 
be  at  its  shortest  duration,  and  yet  neither  of  these  three  showed  any 
appreciable  signs  of  disease  up  to  the  twelfth  day.  All  sickened  at 
about  the  same  time,  and  to-day,  the  fifteenth  day,  all  were  so  extremely 
ill  that  the  most  careful  j^rognosis  would  be  death  of  all  within  forty- 
eight  hours. 

In  animals  whicli  have  died  from  the  disease  and  on  which  a  ponts 
mortem  exainiimtion  was  not  possible  immediately  after  death,  I  have 
also  found  bacilli  in  the  ]teritoneal  and  plural  effusion,  and  even  in  the 
blood.  A  photograph  of  some  of  the  peritoneal  effusion  dried  on  a 
cover-glass  at  the  time  of  the  autoi)sy,  and  afterward  stained  and 
mounted,  shows  these  very  plainly ;  this  photograph  has  been  repro- 
duced by  the  heliocaustic  process  and  accompanies  this  report  as  Plate 
XII.  Xo  doubt  l)acilli  would  also  have  been  found  in  the  solid  tissues 
of  this  animal ;  but  these  organisms  were  the  result  of  cliauges  which 
occur  either  shortl3^  before  or  after  death,  and  have  not  been  found 
in  any  of  the  numerous  animals  which  I  have  destroyed  for  examina- 
tion when  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  disease.  In  such  cases  the  peri- 
toneal, the  pleural,  and  the  pericardial  effusions,  and  usually  the  blood 
are  found  to  contain  motionless  micrococci  of  the  figure  of-eight  form, 
but  often  united  in  chains  and  various-shaped  clusters. 

In  the  many  cultivations  which  I  have  made  from  material  obtained 
from  slaughtered  animals  I  have  never  found  bacilli  except  in  a  very 
few  cases  where  the  virus  was  not  obtained  until  after  contact  with  the 
air,  where  the  vacuum  tubes  had  not  been  properly  sealed,  or  where 
the  animal  was  not  slaughtered  until  the  last  stages  of  the  disease.  A 
photograph  of  a  j^reparation  made  from  one  of  these  cultivations  is  re- 
produced in  Plate  XT.  It  seems  to  be  a  })erfectly  pure  cultivation  of 
micrococci  so  far  as  careful  examination  with  the  microscope  is  able  to 
determine,  and  it  was  so  virulent  that  three  pigs  iiu)culated  with  it  all 
contracted  the  disease  and  all  died. 

In  my  most  recent  investigations  I  11  nd  that  the  peritoneal  effusion 
is  often  impure  in  the  last  stages  of  the  disease.  In  such  cases  a  vari- 
ety of  organisms  ai»pear  in  the  cultivations  made  with  this  li(piid,  but 
l)ure  cultures  of  micrococci  are  still  obtained  from  the  pleural  eftusion, 
or  in  those  rare  cases  where  this  too  is  impure  the  i)ericar(lial  tliiid  and 


84  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

blood  have  yielded  pure  cultures  of  micrococci.  A  fact  of  great  im. 
portance  is  that  uo  pure  cultures  of  bacilli  have  been  obtained,  and  that 
where  but  a  siugle  species  of  organism  has  multiplied  this  has  invaria- 
bly been  a  micrococcus. 

Having  obtained  such  results  from  my  investigations,  and  having  re- 
peated them  over  and  over  again,  and  coufirmed  them  with  virus  from 
various  parts  of  the  country,  I  cannot  but  conclude  that  swine  i)lague 
is  due  to  a  micrococcus,  and  that  the  disease  produced  by  Dr.  Klein's 
cultivated  bacilli  was  a  form  of  septiciemia.  And  this  conclusion  is 
contirined  by  the  short  peri();l  of  incub.itiou  in  his  cases,  and  the  fact 
that  many  of  his  animals  showed  no  signs  of  disease  other  than  a  slight 
rise  of  temperature  and  an  enlargement  and  congestion  of  the  lymph 
glands. 

The  following  record  of  experiments  contains  the  most  important  of 
those  which  have  been  made  since  my  last  report,  and  is  a  continuation 
of  the  evidence  upon  which  the  above  statements  have  been  made: 

Experiment  No.  1. — Two  pigs  were  inoculated  June  28,  1883,  with 
virus  dried  on  quills  and  sent  from  Indiana.  It  was  obtained  by  killing 
a  sick  pig  and  immediately  dipping  the  quills  in  peritoneal  and  pleural 
effusion  and  the  exudation  liquid  from  the  lungs,  yud  drying  this  after 
the  manner  practiced  for  preservation  of  vaccine  lymph.  In  this  case 
the  animal  from  which  the  virus  was  obtained  ('•  t  not  have  a  very 
severe  form  of  the  disease.  For  inoculation  the  v  rus  on  three  or  four 
quills  was  rubbed  up  with  2<'t-  of  salt  solution  and  injected  under  the 
skin  of  thigh.  The  fourth  day  (July  2)  there  was  elevated  temperature 
(102AO  and  lOo^o  F.)  and  slight  redness  at  the  point  of  inoculation.  The 
fifth  day  there  was  diffused  redness  on  the  inner  side  of  both  thighs, 
an  eruption  of  small  pai)ul;e  on  the  thin  parts  of  the  skin  and  an  in- 
creased elevation  of  temperature  (103fo  and  1()4a°  F.).  July  5  to  9 
the  temperature  remaiued  at  or  above  105°  with  one,  and  reached  its 
highest  point  on  the  7th,  beiug  then  10o|°,  and  the  eruption  was  very 
plain  and  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the  body. 
From  this  time  they  began  to  improve,  and  in  neither  case  was  the 
disease  fatal. 

This  was  one  of  a  number  of  inoculation  experiments  made  to  obtain 
a  reliable  virus  for  experimental  purposes,  and  is  recorded  to  illustrate 
the  above  remarks  in  regard  to  the  i)eriod  of  incubation. 

Experiment  No.  2. — Four  hogs  were  inoculated  July  7,  with  virus 
also  from  Indiana,  and  preserved  in  the  same  way  as  the  other,  but  was 
obtained  from  an  outbreak  which  was  much  more  virulent  and  fatal. 
This  was  also  suspended  in  salt  solution  and  injected  hypodermically  in 
the  dose  2«c-  to  ^co.  at  the  inner  si<le  of  the  thigh. 

To  and  including  July  17,  or  for  the  first  ten  days,  there  were  small, 
hard  swellings  at  the  i)ointof  iiu)culation,l)ut  no  positive  signs  of  disease, 
and  the  a[)petite  remained  good.  There  were  considerable  variations 
in  the  temperatures,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  this  had  any  pathological  sig- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  85 

iiiticaiice.  July  18,  three  were  evideutly  sick,  with  temperatures  of 
103p,  lOoi,  and  lOGf  o  F. 

The  one  most  severely  affected  was  killed  July  21,  at  which  time  the 
temperature  was  104|°  F.,  and  there  was  complete  loss  of  appetite. 
The  point  of  inoculation  was  much  swollen,  the  enlargement  extending- 
forward  under  the  abdomen,  and  was  about  6  inches  in  length  hy  2 
in  breadth.  When  cut  across  it  was  found  to  be  dense  and  fibrous  and 
creaked  under  the  knife.  A  clear  lymph  flowed  from  the  cut  surface. 
In  the  center  of  the  swelling  was  an  irregular  cavity,  1  to  2  inches 
across  and  partly  filled  with  dry  caseous  material,  reminding  one  of 
the  sequestrum  formed  in  fowl  cholera  when  an  inactive  virus  is  injected 
into  the  muscles  in  large  quantities.  The  right  lung  was  nearly  all  of 
a  deep-red  color  with  extensive  areas  of  infarction.  There  was  a  small 
quantity  of  effusion  in  the  cavity  of  the  thorax.  The  intestinal  tract 
was  congested  but  there  was  no  peritoneal  effusion. 

The  pleural  effusion  was  collected  in  vacuum  tubes  with  all  known 
precautions  to  prevent  access  of  atmospheric  germs,  and  hermetically 
sealed.  Cultivations  were  made  by  infecting  sterilized  nutritive  liquids 
in  the  cultivation  apparatus  with  small  quantities  of  this  pleural  effusion. 
The  cultivation  liquids  used  were  pork  and  beef  broths  which  had  not 
been  neutralized  and  neutral  veal  broth.  All  the  attempted  cultivations 
were  successful,  and  the  organism  which  multiplied  was  of  identical  ap- 
pearance in  each — it  was  a  diplococcus  or  figure  eight  in  form,  and  had 
a  tendency  to  adhere  in  short  chains  and  small  clusters. 

This  organism  was  carried  through  threecultivations,  each  apparatus 
containing  about  half  an  ounce  (15<'<^)  of  liquid.  August  2  experi- 
ment Xo.  3  was  made  by  inoculating  2  pigs  with  the  third  cultivation 
of  this  micrococcus.  One  of  these  had  a  hypodermic  injection  of  4*"c- 
and  the  other  of  10'"<'-  of  the  cultivation  liquid.  This  was  made  on 
the  inner  side  of  both  thighs  and  with  the  latter  also  between  the  fore 
legs. 

There  was  swelling  at  the  point  of  inoculation  within  twenty-four 
Lours  :  but  no  marked  increase  of  temperature  until  August  7,  wlien  it 
reached  1051°  with  one,  and  10 If^  with  the  other,  with  impaired  appe- 
tite, thirst,  and  shivering.  Two  days  later  the  skin  over  the  entire  ab- 
I  domen  was  wrinkled,  flabby,  aiul  in  places  losing  its  epidermis.  From 
this  time  they  improved  in  general  synii)toms  until  August  17,  when 
I  the  one  that  received  the  larger  quantity  of  virus  and  which  had  been 
most  severely  affected  was  kilU^d  for  examination.  At  this  time  there 
was  extensive  desquamation  of  the  epithelium  over  the  abdomen  ;  the 
swelling  at  the  point  of  inoculation  had  softened  and  contained  i)us. 
There  was  swelling  of  the  lymphatic  glands  of  the  inguinal  and  mesen- 
teric regions,  [)eteeliia'.  of  the  serous  membranes,  and  slight  peritoneal 
effusion. 

Experiment  No.  4. — Three  ])igs,  Nos.  2(5,  27,  and  2S,  were  inoculated 
I  June  9  with  a  cultivation  liquid  seeded  from  the  virulent  effusion  of  a 


86  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

pig  that  had  died  from  tlie  result  of  inoculation  with  a  very  fatal  virus 
received  fronriUinois.  This  cultivation  liquid  contained  only  micro- 
cocci, the  appearance  of  which  are  very  well  shown  in  Plate  XI,  Avhicli 
was  reproduced  from  a  photograi)h. 

June  14,  all  had  elevated  temperatures  varying  from  104°  to  lOSf^  F., 
increased  thirst,  tucked  up  abdomens,  swelling  at  the  points  of  inocula- 
tion, rigors,  and  secluded  themselves  in  their  bedding.  The  appetite 
was  still  fair. 

June  20,  there  was  complete  loss  of  fjppetite,  emaciation,  and  profuse 
diarrhea. 

June  2!),  Xo.  27  died,  and  autopsy  revealed  congestion  of  intestines, 
hei)atization  of  right  lung,  with  abundant  effusion  in  the  pleural,  peri- 
cardial, and  peritoneal  cavities.  Inoculations  with  this  effusion  caused 
death  of  another  pig  July  8,  after  showing  the  w^ell-known  symptoms  of 
swine  plague. 

July  3,  No.  28  was  found  in  a  dying  condition  and  was  destroyed,  in 
order  to  get  fresh  material  for  examination  and  for  inoculation  experi- 
ments. 

July  6,  No.  26  died  in  convulsions  after  having  presented  the  charac- 
teristic symptoms  of  the  various  stages  of  swiue  plague. 

The  notable  point  in  this  experiment  is  the  virulence  of  the  cultivated 
virus.  This  virus  was  a  pure  cultivation  of  micrococci  and  produced  fata^ 
results  in  every  case.  The  results  of  our  inoculation  experiments  with 
cultivated  micrococci  have  heretofore  been  more  or  less  unsatisfactory, 
because,  while  the  symptoms  were  those  of  s\a  ine  plague,  the  <lisease 
produced  did  not  correspond  in  its  malignancy  to  the  swine  plague  which 
so  frequently  decimates  the  herds  of  the  West.  In  this  case,  however, 
the  disease  developing  as  a  result  of  inoculation  had  all  the  malignancy 
of  the  most  severe  outbreaks  which  I  have  ever  witnessed,  and  in  sub- 
sequent experiments  with  virus  obtained  from  these  animals  this  fatal 
type  has  been  retained  and  every  animal  inoculated  has  succumbed. 

On  July  3,  pig  No.  34  was  inoculated  with  mixed  pleural  and  perito- 
neal effusion  obtained  from  No.  28,  which  was  killed  that  day  in  the 
last  stages  of  swine  plague,  produced  by  inoculation  with  cultivated 
A'irus  as  detailed  above.  July  15,  the  temperature  was  104°  F.,  and 
there  were  periods  of  shivering.  From  this  time  the  progress  of  the 
attack  was  rapid;  there  was  a  red  blush  of  the  skin  over  the  abdomen, 
diarrhea,  loss  of  appetite,  prostration,  and  tendency  to  hide  in  the  litter- 
July  18,  it  was  very  much  debilitated,  the  breathing  was  rapid,  and  it 
was  scarcely  able  to  walk.  It  would  undonbtedl}^  have  died  in  a  few 
hours.     It  was  killed  for  examination  and  for  pure  virus. 

Auto])sy  showed  the  lungs  to  be  covered  on  pleural  surface  with  [)ete- 
chiic,  but  there  was  no  hepatization.  Tlie  inguinal  and  mesenteric 
glands  were  greatly  enlarged  and  congested ;  the  small  intestines  in- 
tlamed  ;  the  ca'cum  was  the  seat  of  three  large  ulcerous  patches,  1 
to  2  inches  in  diameter,  and  several  of  smaller  size.     These  were  black 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICAT^ID    ANIMALS.  87 

on  the  surface  and  on  sections  the  tissue  appeared  dense,  fibrous,  and 
pale.  The  ileo-ctecal  valve  was  completely  covered  with  such  an  ulcer, 
and  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach  was  much  congested. 

Thoroughly  sterilized  vacuum  tubes  were  filled  from  the  jugular  vein, 
*rom  the  right  ventricle,  and  with  the  i)ericardial  and  peritoneal  effu- 
sion, each  of  which  were  abundant.  At  the  time  of  the  autopsy  small 
quantities  of  each  of  these  effusions  and  of  the  blood  were  dried  on 
cover-glasses  for  examination  in  the  laboratory. 

The  tubes  of  peritoneal  fluid  when  opened  emitted  a  very  disagree- 
able odor  of  putrefaction.  Stained  cover-glass  preparations  showed  that 
it  contained  both  micrococci  and  rods.  Cultures  of  the  same  contained 
micrococci,  a  bacillus  with  pointed  ends,  i)robably  the  Bacillus  butyricus, 
and  a  few  rods  of  bacterium  termo.  From  this  result  it  becomes  an  in- 
teresting question  to  learn  if  these  various  organisms  really'  existed  in 
the  peritoneal  liquid  at  the  time  of  the  animal's  slaughter,  or  if  they 
were  introduced  from  the  atmosphere  during  the  necessary  manipula- 
tions for  filling  and  sealing  the  vacuum  tubes.  In  other  words,  is  it 
possible  for  septic  bacteria,  in  diseases  which  produce  lesions  of  the  in- 
testines, to  penetrate  the  walls  of  these  organs  and  multiply  in  the  peri- 
toneal effusion  before  the  death  of  the  animal?  In  a  former  report 
(Annual  Report  Department  of  Agriculture,  1880,  p.  432),  I  have  col- 
lected a  number  of  observations  which  seem  to  answer  this  question  in 
the  affirmative-  Fortunately  in  the  case  under  consideration  examina- 
tions were  made  which  furnish  satisfactory  evidence  that  there  were 
various  forms  of  bacterial  organism  in  the  fluid  of  the  peritoneal  cavity 
before  the  death  of  the  animal.  Preparations  were  made  by  thoroughly 
drying  this  fluid  on  cover  glasses  as  soon  as  the  abdominal  cavity  was 
opened,  and  in  these,  of  course,  there  could  be  no  change  before  exami- 
nation. Such  preparations  stained  and  mounted  demonstrate  conclu- 
sively that  while  the  micrococci  predominated,  there  were  also  present 
a  considerable  number  of  bacilli.  These  observations,  which  were  made 
with  the  greatest  precautions  to  avoid  errors,  go  far  to  reconcile  the 
discrepancies  which  have  appeared  to  exist  in  the  results  of  the  various 
investigations  of  this  disease. 

Cover-glass  preparations  of  blood  from  the  Jugular  presented  no  defi- 
nite bacterial  forms  even  after  staining.  Cultures  of  this  blood  re- 
mained perfectly  sterile. 

The  pericardial  effusion  contained  large  numbers  of  micrococci,  easily 
seen  both  in  unstained  and  stained  i)reparations.  Cultivations  gave 
pure  growths  of  micrococci. 

The  blood  from  right  ventricle  showed  aggregations  of  micrococci, 
and  cultures  of  this  blood  produced  a  pure  growth  of  the  same  organ- 
ism. 

Sections  of  the  ca'cal  ulcer  contained  enormous  aggregations  of  mi- 
crococci in  the  depths  of  the  cavity ;  the  necrotic  i)ortion  appeared  to 
consist  almost  entirely  of  these  bodies.     In  some  sections  small  colonies 


I 


88  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

of  micrococci  were  foiiud  iu  the  deeper  parts  of  the  tissue.  No  rods 
could  be  fouud  even  iu  sections  staiued  with  fuchsiue,  a  staiu  which 
Klein  used  in  his  investigations. 

In  sections  of  the  spleen,  stained  in  various  ways,  no  organism  could 
be  detected. 

Sections  of  the  most  congested  mesenteric  gland  revealed  no  organ- 
isms within  the  gland  tissue,  but  the  peritoneal  surface  and  its  serous 
covering  were  studded  with  micrococci,  interspersed  with  which  might 
be  seen  a  considerable  number  of  large  and  small  rods. 

Pig  No.  39  was  inoculated  July  17,  and  was  slaughtered  August  11, 
being  at  that  time  very  severely  affected,  and  presenting  well-marked 
symptoms  of  swine  i^lague.  The  mesenteric  vessels  were  congested,  as 
were  those  about  the  ileo-ciecal  valve,  but  there  were  no  ulcerations  at 
this  point.  The  lungs  were  pale,  but  contained  a  number  of  dark-col- 
ored congested  patches.  There  was  no  pleural  effusion  ;  the  pericardial 
cavity  contained  a  considerable  amount  of  liquid,  and  there  was  also 
slight  peritoneal  effusion.  m 

Cultures  of  the  pericardial  fluid  gave  a  pure  growth  of  micrococci. 
The  vacuum  tubes,  filled  with  peritoneal  fluid,  were  preserved  until 
September  2,  and  were  then  f^uud  to  contain  large  numbers  of  micro- 
cocci, but  no  other  organisms. 

A  large  number  of  observations  similar  to  the  above  have  been  made, 
and  in  all  cases  where  a  pure  cultivation  has  been  obtained  the  organ- 
ism which  multiplied  was  a  micrococcus,  and  when  the  virulence  of 
such  cultivated  micrococci  has  been  tested  by  iuoculation  experiments 
typical  and  fatal  cases  of  swine  plague  have  resulted. 
Eespectfully  submitted, 

D.  E.  SALMON,  D.  V.  M. 


gamsui  coui'.:       ] 
led  no  t> 

id  its  Sit  IMS     h 


l-u)aik<; 
coiigested,  a 
•  •.,    ....  ..  '"'•'t-'-Htioiis  a. 

!it.     Tb-  darkcol- 

udial 
ills.. 


1 


Plate    XI 


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<•. 

SWINE-PLAGUK  MICROCOCCUS . 

Photo-micrograph  of  cultivation  liquid.  X436. 

A    AKoinSCo  Hiliognph.Bil 


Plate  XH 


y 


s]-:ptic:    }]A("ri-;Hi a. 

Photo-micrograph  of  Peritoneal   Effusion  . 


A  Hdih  3  C:.  HfliDqttpn .  Baiii 


ERGOTISM  AMONG  CATTLE  IN  KANSAS. 


Hou.  George  B.  Loring, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture  : 

Sir  :  In  obedience  to  your  telegram  of  the  5tli  of  March,  requesting 
me  to  go  to  N^eosho  Falls,  Kans.,  and  there  to  investigate  a  disease 
among  cattle,  I  forthwith  prepared  jnyseU  and  left  on  the  6th,  arriving 
at  Neosho  Falls  in  the  afternoon  of  the  8th.  On  my  way  to  J^eosho 
Falls  I  was  delayed  oV^ernight  at  Burlington,  Kans.  On  the  same  eve- 
ning I  read  a  report  in  the  Kansas  Cit^'  Journal  of  a  meeting  which  had 
been  held  at  Xeosho  Falls  on  the  evening  of  the  Gth  attended  by  his 
excellency  Governor  G.  W.  Glick,  Lieut.-Gov.  D.  W.  Finney,  who,  in 
company  with  other  State  ofldcials,  Dr.  A.  A.  Holcombe,  D.  Y.  S.,  of 
Leavenworth,  Dr.  Wilhite,  of  Emporia,  and  a  number  of  stockmen,  had 
by  special  train  proceeded  to  ISTeosho  Falls,  and  investigated  the  dis- 
ease among  cattle  in  Woodson  and  Coffey  Counties,  and  upon  the  au- 
thority of  Drs.  Holcombe  and  Wilhite  said  disease  was  pronounced  to 
be  the  contagious  foot-and-mouth  disease.  At  the  meeting  in  the  eve- 
ning a  quarantine  committee  was  appointed,  with  Lieutenant  Governor 
Finney  as  the  chairman.  This  committee  was  instructed  to  quarantine 
all  infected  cattle  and  premises,  to  guard  against  further  diffusion  of  the 
dread  disease.  Upon  reading  this  article  I  was  greatly  surprised  and 
alarmed.  I  had  no  reason  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  diaguosis  by 
Dr.  Holcombe,  whom  I  knew  from  personal  knowledge  to  be  a  very  com- 
pete n t  veteri uari an . 

On  my  arrival  at  ISTeosho  Falls,  Woodson  County,  late  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  8th,  [  was  met  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Finney  and  Dr. 
Holcombe,  who  immediately  procured  a  conveyance  and  accompanied 
me  to  the  residence  and  farm  of  Mr.  Daniel  Keith,  situated  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  Coffey  County,  5  miles  north  of  Neosho  Falls.  Here  I 
was  conducted  to  a  small  pen  or  inclosure  which  contained  12  head 
of  yearling  calve*.  This  pen  measured  about  40  by  Oi)  feet,  and  was  in- 
closed on  two  sides  by  a  rail  fence,  by  a  ha3'  rack  and  corn  crib  on  the 
west  side,  and  horse  stable  and  corn  crib  on  the  east.  The  pen  was 
well  bedded  with  hay  and  straw.  On  entering  the  inclosure  1  walked 
along  the  hay  rack  and  gave  the  hay  a  hasty  examination,  but  found  it 
clean,  bright,  and  sweet,  it  being  wild  hay  made  on  bottom  lands.  I 
also  looked  for  ergot  among  the  gr.issws  \vlii(;h  composed  the  ay,  but 
discovered  only  two  or  three  heads  of  wild  rye  which  were  ergoti/ed ; 

89 


90  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  amount  being  insignificant  I  gave  it  no  further  thought  at  the  time. 
My  expectation,  after  reading  a  description  of  tlie  symptoms  of  the  dis- 
ease among  the  cattle,' was  to  discover  ergotism,  should  the  disease  prove 
not  to  be  the  genuine  foot-and-mouth  affection.  I  inquired  if  any  of 
the  pregnant  cows  ami  heifers  had  aborted,  and  was  told  tliey  had 
not ;  but  my  attention  was  called  to  one  white  cow,  six  years  of  age, 
which  presented  many  ulcers  on  the  uilder  and  teats.  Tliese  ulcers, 
according  to  the  description  of  Mr.  Keith,  first  appeared  as  vesicles  or 
blisters  about  three  weeks  previous,  but  at  the  time  I  saw  her  they  were 
covered  with  scabs,  and  were  healing  oft'.  Mr.  Keith  stated  that  this 
cow  was  suckling  a  ten  day's  old  calf  when  she  first  evinced  symptoms 
of  the  disease,  and  that  two  days  thereafter  the  calf  died,  having  suc- 
cumbed to  a  severe  diarrhea. 

The  yearlings  in  the  pen  presented  the  following  conditions  :  Four  of 
them  had  lost  both  hind  feet,  the  separation  taking  place  at  the  fetlock 
joints ;  5  had  each  lost  one  hind  foot ;  and  3  were  about  to  lose  both 
hind  feet.  The  latter  cases  presented  a  well-defined  line  of  demarkation 
at  or  above  the  fetlock  joint,  extending  and  encircling  the  limb  in  a 
Straight  or  slightly  oblique  line  ;  the  upper  parts  of  said  line  presented 
a  healthy  surface,  discharging  a  small  amount  of  laudable  pus,  and  were 
healing  under  a  scab ;  the  limbs  below  this  line  were  perfectly  devital- 
ized and  shrunken  in  a  dry  gangrenous  condition.  In  the  clefts  of  sev- 
eral of  the  feet  I  found  considerable  evidence  of  previous  ulceration, 
and  loosening  of  the  walls  of  the  foot  around  the  bulb  of  the  heel. 
Those  animals  which  had  lost  their  feet  were  apparently  in  a  healthy 
condition,  a  slight  elevation  of  temperature  being  the  only  appreciable 
evidence  of  functional  derangement  remaining,  aside  from  the  crippled 
limbs.  They  ate  well ;  licked  themselves;  the  stumps  were  scabbing 
over  and  healing;  they  occasionally  got  up  and  hobbled  along  for  a 
few  steps,  then  drojjped  down. 

I  next  examined  their  mouths,  which  revealed  denudation  of  the  mu- 
cous membrane  and  discolored  patches  on  the  nose,  lips,  tongue,  and 
roof  and  elastic  pad.  In  some  of  them  only  two  or  three  of  these  dis- 
colored si>ots  would  be  found  on  the  lips,  pad,  or  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 
The  discolored  or  denuded  patches  did  not  extend  deeper  than  the  sub- 
mucous connective  tissue,  and  presented  a  brownish  yellow  or  rusty 
color;  they  were  irregular  in  outline,  and  of  various  dimensions,  from 
the  size  of  a  i)eacil's  point  to  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  were  not 
circumscribed  by  any  reddish  or  inflammatory  border. 

No  soreness  or  inconvenience  was  manifested  in  the  act  of  eaciug. 
Temperatures  ranged  from  102°  to  103.8°  F.  I  saw  a  number  of  other 
cattle  in  various  stages  of  lameness,  also  some  which  had  recovered 
from  lameness,  yet  no  very  recent  cases  were  reported  by  Mr.  Keith, 
from  whom  I  received  the  following  brief  history: 

lie  first  became  aware  of  the  trouble  among  his  cattle  on  or  about  the 
23d  or  25th  of  December  last,  when  he  noticed  a  peculiar  jerking  up  of 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  91 

the  bind  legs  among  a  number  of  the  calves.  They  would  first  jerk  up 
one  foot  and  then  the  other,  or  shake  the  foot  as  if  they  wanted  to  shake 
off  a  foreign  body,  and  acted  as  if  they  could  not  place  the  affected  foot 
to  the  ground.  They  would  then  hobble  along  a  few  steps,  and  walk 
off  moderately  well  or  lie  down.  When  they  stood  quiet  they  arched 
the  back  and  dropped  the  head. 

Some  of  them  slobbered  or  frothed  at  the  mouth,  and  would  not  eat 
hay  very  well.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  they  persisted  in 
lying  down  nearly  all  the  time ;  swelling  about  the  coronet  tlien  be- 
came apparent,  extending  as  high  up  as  the  fetlock,  or  even  higher  in 
some  cases,  which  was  attended  by  great  heat  and  tenderness. 

Soon  after  this  swelling  appeared — a  very  few  days — a  band  around 
the  leg  would  then  appear,  the  skin  becoming  contracted,  dry,  and 
hard  ;  next  the  skin  broke  and  a  sore  made  its  appearance.  This  sore 
encircled  the  leg  and  gradually  deepened  until  complete  separation  of 
the  limb  at  one  of  the  joints  occurred.  The  time  consumed  from  the 
first  appearance  of  the  disease  until  the  final  dropping  off  of  the  dead 
portion  of  the  limb  would  be  from  three  to  four  weeks.  In  some  cases 
he  noticed  soreness  and  ulceration  in  the  clefts  between  the  claws. 
AVhen  he  first  noticed  the  jerking  up  of  the  feet  and  limbs  he  thought 
it  was  due  to  impaction  of  mud  between  the  claws ;  therefore  he  ex- 
amined some  of  the  feet,  but  found  no  impactions.  On  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary about  30  head  of  the  calves  manifested  lameness.  All  of  these 
calves  were  fed  npon  wild  hay  and  shelled  corn  during  the  fall  and 
winter.  All  the  medical  treatment  which  these  cattle  leceived  was  one 
application  ot  muriatic  acid  around  the  limb  where  the  line  of  soreness 
existed.  The  described  12  head  of  yearling  calves,  and  51  more  of  the 
same  age,  he  bought  from  Mr.  J.  Davis  on  the  11th  of  December,  and 
took  them  home  on  the  12th.  Mr.  Davis  had  bought  these  calves  from 
different  parties  within  a  radius  of  10  miles  south  and  east  ofXeosho 
Falls. 

Leaving  Mr.  Keith's  place,  we  went  to  the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  A.  C. 
Goodrich,  which  is  occupied  by  Mr.  Edward  Hindman,  who  is  the  over- 
seer of  the  stock  on  the  faini.  The  Goodiich  farm  is  divided  from  the 
Keith  farm  by  a  i)ublic  road  running  north  and  south.  On  the  Good- 
rich farm  we  saw  20  head  of  cattle,  all  of  which  were  two  years  old  and 
upwar(ls,|which  had  then  lost  or  would  eventually  lose  one  or  more  feet, 
or  parts  of  them,  and  2  of  them  were  about  to  lose  all  their  feet. 

In  one  of  these  cases  the  line  of  demarkation  was  0  inches  above  the 
fetlock,  and  in  the  other  4  inches,  while  some  of  them  had  lost  only  one 
claw  or  one  foot  at  the  second  joint.  All  of  these  cattle  presented 
greater  or  less  discolorations,  erosions,  or  ulcerations  on  the  lips,  tongne, 
or  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  in  several  the  mouth  lesions  were  much  more 
prominent  than  in  any  of  the  Keith  cattle.  A  two-year  old  red  and 
white  steer,  which  had  lost  both  hind  feet  at  the  fetlock  joints,  pre- 
sented, upon  examination  ut'  the  mouth,  brownish  yellow-patches  on 


92  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIiMALS. 

the  roof,  covering  two-thirds  of  the  space  between  the  pad  and  soft 
palate.  These  patches  coalesced  and  were  elevated  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch,  possessed  a  well-defined  border  and  a  fiattened  surface.  On  the 
pad  were  two  large  oval  or  oblong  nlcers,  one  of  which  measured  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  in  length.  On  the  gums  of  the  lower  jaw,  inside  of 
the  lateral  and  corner-incisor  teeth  of  the  right  side,  ai)peared  one  large 
ulcer,  which  possessed  a  more  reddish  and  intlaniniatory  appearance 
than  those  on  the  pad.  On  the  right  side  of  the  thick  portion  of  the 
tongue  existed  an  ulcer  which  had  an  excavated  bottom  and  a  greasy 
and  dirtj^-looking  appearance ;  this  was  1^  inches  in  length  and  of  an 
oval  shape.  Temperature  103.8°  F.  A  two-year-old  red  heifer,  which 
had  lost  one  hind  foot  at  the  fetlock  joint,  and  the  other  was  in  process 
of  separation  at  the  same  place,  presented  a  mouth  with  lesions  exactly 
similar  to  the  first  one,  only  that  they  were  confined  solely  to  the  roof  of 
the  mouth. 

A  third  case — a  fiveyear-old  cow  which  was  losing  both  hind  feet  at  the 
fetlocks — presented  discolored  patches  and  small  erosions  on  the  tongue, 
lips,  and  roof  of  the  mouth,  also  ecchymosed  spots  appeared  on  the 
mucous  lining  of  the  vulva,  and  mucus  mixed  with  pus  dowedfrom  the 
vagina.  An  ulcer  the  size  of  a  silver  dime  appeared  inside  of  the  si)hinc- 
ter  aui.  Temperature  104°  F.  Mr.  Goodrich,  among  his  herd  of  9.5  ani- 
mals, had  21  cows  and  a  number  of  heifers  which  were  pregnant,  but 
none  of  them  aborted. 

In  an  adjoining  lot  1  saw  a  number  of  young  calves ;  upon  inquiry  I 
received  the  response  that  these  calves  were  all  well,  and  had  not  been 
with  the  diseased  cattle.  A  number  of  hogs  also  were  inclosed  in  an- 
other lot  adjoining  that  of  the  diseased  cattle,  and  I  was  told  that  they 
had  not  been  in  contact  with  the  cattle.  Night  was  now  approaching, 
and  owing  to  the  luimber  of  people  which  had  gathered,  and  the  excite- 
ment which  prevailed,  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  any  definite  or  ex- 
tended history  of  the  outbreak,  manner  of  feeding,  surroundings,  &c. 
Therefore  I  deemed  it  best  to  return  to  town  and  compiire  notes  with 
Dr.  Holcombe,  and  return  on  the  next  day  to  make  a  more  thorough 
investigation,  and  to  obtain  a  full  history.  I  was  now  told  by  some  of 
the  stocknjen  present  that  they  desired  to  have  my  oi)inion  on  the 
nature  of  the  disease;  that  they  intended  to  have  the  cattle  appraised, 
killed,  and  buried  on  the  next  day,  if  my  diagnosis  corresponded  with 
that  of  Dr.  ITolcombe.  Two  of  these  parties  came  from  Emporia  for 
this  expressed  purpose. 

This  placed  me  in  a  very  delicate  and  unpleasant  position,  as  1  had 
not  given  the  matter  the  thorough  investigation  that  I  desired  to  do 
before  making  my  diagnosis.  I  had  to  rely  almost  solely  ui)on  a  history 
as  given  to  me  by  i)arties  nj)on  whom  I  could  not  place  absolute  reliance; 
nevertheless  I  felt  c()mi)elled  to  make  a  diagnosis  under  these  j)ressing 
circumstances.     Taking,  therefore,  into  consideration,  1st.  The  history 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  93 

which  was  given  to  me  by  Mr,  Keitli,  which  so  closely  described  the 
first  s^'uiptoms  of  the  foot-and-mouth  disease  ;  the  ulcers  aud  previous 
vesication  on  the  udder  of  the  Keith  cow,  and  the  death  of  her  calf  soon 
after  the  disease  manifested  itself  in  the  mother  ;  the  absence  of  abor- 
tions or  the  supervention  of  nervous  att'ectious  which  I  exj)ected  to  find 
in  ergotism.  2d.  Attributing-  the  discolorations  of  the  mouth  to  the 
remains  of  previous  vesications ;  the  losing  of  the  feet  as  a  sequelie  to 
foot-and  mouth  disease  aggravated  by  neglect,  and  exposure  to  intense 
cold.  3d.  Accepting  the  history  of  a  case  described  to  me  by  Dr. 
Holcombe,  where  he  discovered  an  animal  on  the  Keith  place  in  the 
second  or  vesicular  stage  of  foot-and-mouth  disease  in  which  he  found 
several  distinct  characteristic  vesicles  in  the  mouth,  accomi)anied  by 
salivation,  and  another  vesicle  in  the  cleft  of  the  foot  near  the  heel  the 
size  of  a  silver  dime,  aud  which  he  caused  to  rupture  by  a  i)ressure 
with  his  finger,  and  registering  a  temperatnre  of  104:. 4°  F.  4th.  Ac- 
cepting as  true  the  positive  statement  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Beard,  who  lives 
2  miles  south  of  Mr.  Keith.  He  stated  that  he  had  exchanged  cows 
with  Mr.  Keith  on  the  ISth  of  February,  and  that  two  days  after 
he  brought  the  cow  home  from  the  Keith  place  one  of  his  cows  con- 
tracted the  disease,  and  that  several  others  followed  in  quick  succes- 
sion; (this  was  strong  evidence  to  prove  the  contagious  character  of  the 
malady);  in  the  absence  of  recent  cases,  placing  reliance  upon  the 
statement  made  by  Dr.  Holcombe,  and  uj)on  his  diagnosis,  having 
no  valid  objections  to  offer  to  it,  I  was  led  to  concur  with  him,  aud 
announced  my  belief  that  the  disease  among  the  cattle  on  the  Keith 
and  on  the  Goodrich  farms  was  epizootic  ai)hthfe.  I  went  out  to  the 
Keith  farm  again  on  Snnday,  the  9th,  with  the  intention  of  obtaining  a 
complete  history  of  the  outbreak,  to  examine  the  quality  of  the  feed, 
Avater,  and  soil,  to  make  a  more  extended  examination  of  all  of  the  dis- 
eased animals,  and  to  make  imst-mortem  examinations  if  opportunity 
afforded  it.  But  when  1  arrived  at  the  Keith  place  a  stream  of  people 
were  passing  in  and  out  among  the  cattle.  A  delegation  of  stockmen 
were  there  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  paying  for  and  disposing  of  the 
diseased  animals,  and  another  number  of  persons  were  holding  a  con- 
sultation in  relation  to  petitioning  Governor  Glick,  re(piesting  him  to 
convene  the  State  legislature  for  the  i)urpose  of  enacting  laws  and  to 
make  provision  for  the  stamping  out  of  the  disease.  These  parties  were 
mon()i)()liziiig  the  time  of  the  owners  of  the  cattle,  consequently  I  had 
to  wait  for  a  more  favorable  day  to  acconqjlish  my  work.  This  day, 
however,  I  nnule  a  more  extended  observation  of  the  cattle  on  both 
farms,  as  1  was  exceedingly  anxions  to  find  a  recent  case.  My  search 
was  rewarded  by  finding  a  red  yearling  steer  at  Keith's,  which  pre- 
sented a  blister  at  the  anteiior  border  of  the  soft  palate;  it  was  about 
the  size  of  a  silver  dime,  and  luul  a  thin  raised  pellicle  of  mucous  nuMU- 
braue  which  rui)ture(l  when  I  touched  it.  Two  small  pointed  vesicles 
appeared  on  the  upjier  surface  of  the  tongue.     No  excessive  salivation 


94  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

was  present.  A  i)inkisli  color  was  diffused  over  the  ineuibraue  of  the 
mouth  and  tongue.  Breathing  accelerated ;  temperature  101.5°.  In 
withdrawing  the  instrument  from  the  rectum  an  ulcer  was  exposed  to 
view,  which  bled  slightly.  (On  the  following  day  1  saw  this  animal 
again  and  found  the  conditions  unchanged,  except  that  the  blisters  in 
the  mouth  had  assumed  the  characteristic  brownish-yellow  color,  simi- 
lar to  those  found  in  the  mouths  of  the  worst  cases.  lu  the  course  of 
ten  days  this  animal  had  about  recovered.)  On  this  day  I  noticed  sev- 
eral animals  frothing  at  the  mouth,  although  they  showed  but  slight  in- 
dications of  lameness,  but  for  want  of  proper  assistance  was  unable  to 
catch  them  for  closer  inspection.  Ou  the  Goodrich  farm  I  found  a  num- 
ber of  cows  and  heifers  to  have  discharges  from  the  vagina,  accom- 
panied by  thickeniug  ecchymosis,  or  ulcerations  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  vaginal  walls.  I  noticed  also  small  blood-clots  and  mucus 
or  recently-dropped  fecen. 

On  Monday,  the  10th,  I  looked  again  for  recent  cases,  but  did  not 
succeed  in  finding  any. 

Mr.  Hindman  gave  me  the  following  history :  He  has  lived  eight 
years  on  this  place,  and  has  been  engaged  in  raising  and  feeding  stock 
during  taat  time.  He  never  before  had  any  disease  among  his  cattle. 
He  took  into  a  herd  5  miles, east,  which  was  in  charge  of  George 
Grant,  72  head  of  cattle  last  spring,  and  on  the  10th  of  October  brought 
home  78  head.  During  the  summer  2  died  and  5  were  sold.  Since  the 
return  of  the  78  head  8  calves  have  been  born.  These  cattle,  since  the 
10th  of  October,  have  been  kept  in  a  feed-lot,  sheltered  by  timber,  south 
and  east  of  the  house.  They  derived  their  drinking  water  from  a  pond 
(surface  water)  located  in  a  field  20  rods  north  of  the  house,  and  at 
about  the  same  distance  from  the  residence  and  yards  of  Mr.  Keith. 
On  New  Year's  week  he  took  all  the  cattle,  except  a  few  cows  and  a 
bull,  out  of  the  feed-lots,  driving  them  through  a  gate  south  of  the 
house,  and  then  drove  them  down  the  public  road  a  distance  of  40 
rods  and  turned  them  into  a  stalk-field  and  meadow,  from  whence  they 
could  again  return  through  a  gap  in  the  hedge  to  the  old  feed-lot  and 
drinking  place.  He  ke])t  3  cows  and  a  bull  in  a  small  field  north  of  the 
house,  from  which  they  went  to  the  same  pond  for  water  as  did  the  other 
cattle.  On  or  about  the  10th  of  January  one  of  these  milch  cows  be- 
came lame  iu  one  hind  foot,  and  was  yet  lame  when  1  saw  her,  but  mani- 
fested no  indications  of  losing  any  part  of  her  foot.  The  next  cases  of 
lameness  ai)i)eared  on  the  11th  or  loth  of  February,  the  day  after 
a  heavy  rain  and  sleet  storm.  On  that  morning  a  number  of  cattle 
were  laniCj  and  new  cases  appeared  daily  for  a  number  of  days  there- 
after. The  lameness  attacked  cattle  regardless  of  age,  sex,  or  condi- 
tion, old  as  well  as  young,  and  just  as  severely.  As  soon  as  they  be- 
came too  lame  to  get  around  to  feed  and  water  they  were  driven  into 
a  small  yard  on  the  east  side  of  the  house,  where  they  had  a  covered 
shed  lor  siielter,  and  feed  and  water  was  carried  to  them.     In  this  shed 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  95 

the  worst  cases  were  kept,  and  in  tlie  west  end  of  it  a  small  stall  was 
partitioned  oft'  by  a  few  fence  boards,  in  which  the  bull  was  tied.  This 
bull  never  manifested  any  symptoms  of  the  disease.  This  is  substan- 
tially the  history  which  1  obtained  from  Mr.  Hindman  on  this  day. 
With  regard  to  the  kind  of  feed  which  the  cattle  received,  Mr.  Hind- 
man  told  me  that  all  the  cattle  one  year  old  and  upwards  were  fed 
upon  hay  made  on  the  bottom  lands,  that  they  depastured  30  acres  of 
corn  stalks,  and  lately  received  wheat  straw  in  addition  to  the  hay. 
The  milch  cows,  which  were  kept  north  of  the  house,  the  bull,  and  the 
young  calves  received  corn  in  addition  to  hay. 

On  a  subsequent  visit  I  was  informed,  either  by  Mr.  Hindman  or  one 
of  his  hired  men,  that  the  hogs  had  been  allowed  to  remain  in  tlie  yard 
with  the  diseased  cattle  until  they  began  to  gnaw  at  their  dead  feet,  in 
consequence  of  which  they  were  turned  into  the  orchard.  I  also  dis- 
covered that  the  young  calves  had  remained  in  this  yard  until  they  were 
crowded  out  by  the  rapid  increase  of  invalids. 

History. — On  the  11th  of  December  Daniel  Keith  bought  63  head  of 
yearling  calves  from  Mr.  Joseph  Davis,  and  brought  them  home  on  the 
12th.  Four  days  previous  to  this  time  he  had  bought  5  yearlings  from 
Nelson  Stride,  2  miles  south.  He  bought  one  from  William  Inge,  2 
miles  southeast,  about  a  week  later.  Bought  one  from  Bait.  King,  2i 
miles  southwest  of  Xeosho  Falls,  a  day  or  two  after  the  Inge  calf. 
Bought  one  4  miles  south  of  Neosho  Falls  on  or  about  the  10th  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  on  the  20th  bought  6  head  from  Alex.  Linn,  1  mile  down 
the  river  from  Neosho  Falls.  On  or  about  the  23d  of  December  he  first 
noticed  the  lameness  to  exist  among  the  calves  which  he  had  bought 
from  Mr.  Davis,  and  described  their  actions  and  symptoms  as  stated  in 
the  early  part  of  this  report,  but  he  also  stated  now  that  in  the  com- 
mencement of  the  disease  many  of  them  slobbered  profusely  ;  numerous 
small  blisters  appeared  in  the  mouth  and  on  the  tongue,  and  that  they 
then  refused  to  eat  hay  or  rough  feed;  that  they  manifested  an  inclina- 
tion to  lie  in  the  snow,  and  on  warm  or  sunshiny  days  they  sought  cool 
and  sheltered  places.  On  the  1st  of  January  about  30  of  them  wer^ 
lame  and  new  cases  developed  daily  for  a  number  of  weeks  thereafter, 
also  that  some  were  yet  taking  the  disease  while  others  had  recovered 
from  it. 

After  the  lai)se  of  the  first  few  days  of  sickness  they  regained  their 
ai>])etite  and  ate  as  well  as  ever. 

The  best  animal  in  the  herd  of  "yearlings,  which  was  also  one  of  the 
first  ones  taken  sick,  died  on  the  5th  of  January ;  he  refused  to  eat 
corn,  frothed  at  the  mouth,  and  suffered  intense  pain.  The  second 
<leath  occurred  on  the  28th  day  of  February ;  this  was  the  calf,  which 
died  two  days  after  the  mother  of  it  was  taken  sick.  One  died  on  the 
8th  of  March;  this  one  had  been  suffering  for  ten  weeks,  and  had  lost 
both  hind  feet  at  the  I'etlock  joints.  Three  were  killed.  The  8  head  which 
he  bought  since  the  disease  broke  out,  all  became  sick  within  two  or 


96  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

three  days  after  they  arrived  on  the  place.  About  a  week  after  I  ob- 
tained the  above  history  Mr.  Keith's  hired  man  tokl  me  that  only  4  or 
5  of  the  8  head  bonght  subsequent  to  the  outbreak  of  tlie  disease  be- 
came affected.  I  also  learned  from  Mr.  Keith  that  in  the  early  part  of 
March  he  received  the  report  published  b^-  your  Department  for  the 
year  1880  and  1881,  which  contains  a  brief  history  and  description  of  the 
foot-and-mouth  disease;  he  read  it  carefully,  and  then  made  his  first 
examinations  of  the  mouths  and  states  he  found  the  conditions  to  accord 
exactly  with  the  descriptions  there  given. 

Mr.  Keith  had  auotherlot  of  cattle,  numbering  40  head.  These  were 
two-year-old  steers  and  heifers,  and  a  few  cows.  They  were  kept  in  a 
timber  lot,  separated  from  the  yearlings  by  an  ordinary  rail  fence,  and 
run  into  a  stalk  field  and  received  the  same  kind  of  wild  hay  as  the 
yearlings.  These  cattle  were  bought  on  or  about  the  1st  day  of  IS'ovem- 
ber.  On  the  28th  of  February  the  first  case  of  sickness  appeared  in 
this  herd,  15  or  20  of  which  manifested  symptoms  of  the  disease  (March 
10).     Nearly  all  of  these  cattle  were  in  excellent  growing  condition. 

On  the  13th  I  separated  all  of  the  well  cattle  from  those  showing  anj^ 
evidence  of  the  disease  on  the  Keith  farm,  and  had  the  sound  ones  cor- 
raled  by  themselves.  I  recorded  the  temperature  of  a  nuaiber  of  the 
yearlings  which  were  diseased,  which  registered  as  follows :  103.8°,  103°, 
103.2°,  104°,  104.8°,  105°,  104.8°.  A  number  of  the  milder  cases  regis- 
tered 100.3°,  100.2°,  101.80,100°,  101.5°,  101°,  100.4°,  102°,  101.5°,  100.2°, 
102°,  101.0°,  101.5°,  101.2°,  101°,  101.2°,  100.8°,  100.2°,  101.2°,  102°, 
102.2°.  (Here  I  broke  my  thermometer).  This  was  quite  a  warm  day, 
and  I  noticed  an  increase  of  temperature  of  nearly  1°  over  the  tests  of 
the  9th  and  10th  on  the  same  animals.  1  found,  out  of  118  animals  then 
on  the  place,  74  affected  ;  of  these  2  will  lose  all  four  of  their  feet ;  4 
have  lost  both  hind  feet;  9  have  each  lost  one  hind  foot;  1  four-year- 
old  cow  has  lost  both  hind  feet  and  one  front  toe  :  2  lost  each  one  toe  ; 
3  are  affected  in  one  foot;  6  in  two  feet,  and  1  in  three  feet,  all  of  which 
will  probably  lose  the  parts  affected.  The  rest  were  lame  in  various 
•egrees. 

During  my  two  weeks'  observations  among  these  cattle  I  found  only 
the  one  case  (the  yearling  red  steer)  which  I  could  consider  in  any  man- 
ner a  recent  case.        ^ 

On  this  day  (the  13th)  I  also  examined  the  pond  of  water  from  which 
the  cattle  were  in  the  habit  of  drinking,  but  found  nothing  contained 
in  it  to  which  T  could  attribute  the  origin  of  the  disease,  and  from  the 
history  which  I  was  enabled  to  obtain  I  could  not  discover  any  origin 
by  contamination  with  foreign  cattle.  Yet  it  appeared  to  me  that  this 
outbreak  was  very  evidently  not  so  contagious  as  tlm  foot-and-mouth 
disease  is  known  to  be,  and  I  began  to  have  very  grave  doubts  about 
its  being  contagious  at  all,  or  its  being  the  genuine  epizootic  aphthje. 

On  the  11th,  in  company  with  Mr.  J.  W.  Beard,  Judge  Thatcher,  and 
Don.  Eli  K.  Titus,  1  drove  out  to  the  farm  of  Mr.  Beard,  and  made  a 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  97 

hurried  examination  of  the  cattle  on  his  place,  situated  2^  miles  north 
of  Xeosho  Falls,  in  Woodson  County. 

I  there  found  5  animals,  out  of  a  herd  of  75,  affected  similarly  to  those 
of  Keith's  and  Goodrich's,  although  only  one  will  lose  both  hind  feet, 
and  a-secoud  one  one  foot.  Mr.  Beard  attributed  the  origin  of  the  dis- 
ease among  his  cattle  to  the  introduction  of  the  cow  from  Keith's,  as 
before  mentioned.  As  soon  as  he  noticed  any  evidence  of  lameness  he 
separated  such  a  one  from  the  rest  of  his  cattle,  and  thereto  attributes 
the  small  number  affected  among  his  herd.  Two  recovered  from  lame- 
ness after  a  few  days.  His  cattle  were  fed  on  corn  in  the  fodder  and 
wild  hay.  The  cattle  drank  from  the  Xeosho  River,  which  supplies 
good,  clear  water,  and  the  approach  to  the  drinking"  place  is  a  gravelly 
bottom,  free  from  mud.  These  cattle  possess  a  timber  shelter,  with  shed 
and  hay-racks,  and  the  feed-lot  is  sloping  and  well  drained. 

On  the  18th  I  again  visited  Mr.  Beard's  place,  accompanied  by  Prof. 
M.  Stalker,  of  the  Iowa  State  University.  Xo  new  cases  had  apiieared 
since  my  previous  visit.  Mr.  Beard  was  absent,  but  we  saw  Mr.  A.  W. 
Orrill,  the  hired  man,  who  made  the  following  jiositive  statement:  That 
he  came  to  Beard's  i^lace  to  work  on  the  16th  of  February ;  that  on 
the  following  morning  he  noticed  the  old  cow  to  be  decidedly  lame  (this 
was  the  first  one  affected),  and  that  on  the  18th  he  assisted  in  bringing 
the  cow  from  Mr.  Keith's  for  which  Mr.  Beard  had  traded. 

The  Keith  cow  was  the  second  one  to  showlameness,  which  was  on  the 
22d.  On  the  1st  of  March,  the  third  one ;  a  day  or  two  later,  the  fourth  one 
was  slobbering  profusely  at  4  o'clock  p.  m.,  and  died  the  next  day  at  10  a. 
m.  The  fifth  one  became  lame  on  the  5th,  and  several  others  manifested 
slight  lameness,  but  have  recovered  therefrom.  At  this  visit  to  Mr. 
Beard's  we  examined  the  feed  and  hay  very  closely,  endeavoring  to  find 
some  cause  for  the  appearance  of  this  disease.  We  found  mixed  with 
the  hay  a  large  proportion  of  the  wild  rye,  and  found  this  wild  rye  to 
to  be  extensively  ergotized.  This  discover^^  at  once  accounted  for  the 
gangrenous  phase  of  the  disease.  We  followed  up  this  clue  with  avidity, 
and  went  directly  to  Keith's  and  to  Goodrich's  place,  and  found  the 
same  conditions  present  among  the  hay  there,  but  not  near  so  exten. 
sively  as  at  Beard's.  I  had  examined  the  hay  at  Goodrich's  several 
times,  but  was  unfortunate  each  time  in  seeing  hay  in  the  racks  which 
contained  but  very  small  amounts  of  the  ergotized  grass. 

On  the  14th  I  separated  the  Goodrich  cattle,  placing  the  well  cattle 
into  a  field  by  themselves.  I  found  18  which  had  lost  both  hind  feet ; 
5  had  each  lost  one  hind  foot;  1  had  lost  both  hind  and  one  fore  foot, 
and  1  was  about  to  lose  all  four  feet ;  40  others  were  lame  in  one  or  more 
feet.  This  left  31  well  out  of  the  90  head.  No  new  cases  had  appeared 
iu  this  herd  during  the  time  of  my  stay. 

On  this  day  I  left  for  EI  Dorado,  Butler  County,  at  the   request  of 
Governor  Glick,  to  investigate  a  disease  among  cattle  said  to  be  exist- 
ing at  or  near  that  place. 
5751  D  A 7 


98  CONTAGIOUS   DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

After  my  arrival  I  called  upon  Dr.  A.  Bassett,  mayor  of  the  city.  He 
told  me  that  Mr.  W.  B.  Collinsworth,  residing  14  miles  west,  reported 
to  him  that  he  had  a  cow  which  appeared  very  stiff  and  lame,  and  that 
she  had  sores  on  tbe  tongue.  I  drove  out  early  in  the  morning  of  the 
15th  and  examined  the  cow  belonging  to  Mr.  Collinsworth,  and'  found 
her  to  be  recovering  from  a  mild  attack  of  puerperal  apoplexy.  I  re- 
urned  to  Xeosho  Falls  on  the  same  day.  On  the  17th  I  went  to  Hall's 
Summit,  Coffey  County,  at  the  request  of  the  county  commissioner  of 
that  district.  I  was  directedto  visittheresidenceof  Mr.  George  E.  Smith, 
who  had  a  cow  which  had  lost  some  of  her  feet.  I  found  the  cow  pre- 
senting the  following  conditions :  The  left  forefoot  had  come  off  at  the 
joint  within  the  hoof,  the  left  hind  leg  had  broken  off  half  way  between 
the  fetlock  and  hock  joint  carrying  the  lower  end  of  the  metatarsal  bone 
•with  it  ,and  the  right  hind  leg  was  coming  off  at  the  same  place.  The 
right  horn  had  also  broken  off  close  to  the  head.  The  cow  was  re- 
duced to  a  mere  skeleton,  and  was  suckling  a  calf.  Mr.  Smith  gave  the 
following  history: 

On  New  Year's  night  the  cow  became  cast  by  being  tangled  up  in  the 
rope  with  which  she  was  tied;  she  was  found  by  him  in  the  morning j 
was  loosened,  when  she  got  up  and  walked  away.  She  ate  and  drank  as 
usual.  About  a  month  afterwards  she  began  to  show  lameness  in  her 
hind  limbs ;  frothed  a  little  at  the  mouth,  and  did  not  eat  well.  She 
gave  birth  to  a  calf  on  the  last  daj^  of  February.  This  cow  was  bought 
just  before  the  holidays,  and  at  about  the  same  time  he  bought  another 
cow.  This  second  cow  had  a  calf  one  day  later  than  the  diseased  one. 
Both  cows  and  calves  have  been  kept  in  the  same  yard  and  on  the  same 
kind  of  feed,  but  only  the  one  developed  the  disease.  They  were  fed  on 
choj)  feed  and  wild  hay. 

I  returned  again  to  Neosho  Falls  on  the  18th. '  On  the  19th,  in  company 
with  Professor  Stalker,  I  visited  the  Keith  and  Goodrich  herds.  On  the 
20th,  in  company  with  Dr.  D.E.  Salmon,  of  yonr  Department,  Dr.  Stalker, 
Dr.  G.  C.  Faville,  of  Colorado,  and  Dr.  E.  T.  Haggard,  of  Lexington,  Ky., 
I  visited  again  the  three  affected  herds,  and  also  a  fourth  one  owned 
by  Christian  Pribbernow,  on  Owl  Creek,  12  miles  south  of  Neosbo  Falls, 
Woodson  County.  Mr.  Pribbernow  owns  183  head  of  cattle,  54  of  which 
are  yearlings,  24  two-year-old  steers,  15  three-j-car-old  steers,  13 
heifers  with  calf,  the  remainder  cows  and  calves.  At  this  place  we 
found  16  affected,  the  symptoms  and  lesions  being  similar  to  those  of 
the  Keith  and  the  Goodrich  cattle.  Seven  of  them  will  lose  one  or  more 
feet,  and  the  other  9  manifest  lameness.  Two  or  3  which  were  slightly 
lame  have  recovered. 

Mr.  Pribbernow  stated  that  the  disease  made  its  first  api)earance  on 
the  15tli  of  February,  when  several  of  the  older  cattle  Avere  noticed  to 
be  lame ;  soon  thereafter  swelling  of  the  hind  feet  and  extreme  lameness 
appeared,  rendering  them  unwilling  to  walk.  He  then  placed  7  of 
the  worst  cases  into  a  small   yard   by  themselves.    This   yard   was 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  99 

divided  from  the  yard  which  held  the  yearling  cattle  by  an  ordinary 
rail  fence.  None  of  the  yearlings  became  affected.  The  large  cattle 
had  been  fed  on  coru-fodder  and  Avild  hay.  and  the  yearlings  in  addi- 
tion received  millet  hay  and  oats.  The  Avild  hay  on  this  place  contained 
a  great  amount  of  wild  rye  which  was  extensively  ergotized. 

On  the  20th  we  saw  the  cattle  at  Beard's,  Keith's,  and  Goodrich's,  and 
found  the  conditions  as  herein  described.  After  making  these  inspec- 
tions, it  was  decided  by  Drs.  Salmon,  Stalker,  Faville,  and  myself  that 
we  believed  the  origin  of  the  disease  among  these  four  different  herds 
of  cattle  to  be  due  to  the  consumption  of  the  ergotized  grasses  contained 
in  the  hay.  But  in  order  to  more  fully  satisfy  myself,  I  requested  Dr. 
Salmon  to  accompany  me  to  a  farm  lying  adjoining  that  of  Mr.  Keith  ; 
therefore,  on  the  next  day,  we  drove  out  to  the  farm  of  Mrs.  Dipple, 
which  is  situated  west  of  Keith's.  We  there  examined  the  hay  and 
found  it  to  contain  a  very  small  amount  of  the  ergot.  We  also  exam- 
ined several  of  the  cattle  and  found  slight  discolorations  of  the  mouth, 
yet  the  cattle  had  never  shown  any  lameness  or  indisposition  whatever. 
We  then  looked  over  the  well  cattle  on  the  Goodrich  farm,  which  had 
been  separated  from  the  sick  by  me  on  the  14th,  but  found  no  new  cases. 

During  the  course  of  my  investigations  I  killed  3  animals  for  the 
purpose  of  examination  into  the  condition  of  the  internal  organs.  In 
one  I  found  enlargement  of  the  heart  and  softening  of  the  muscular 
walls ;  in  another  I  found  an  infiltration  of  a  purplish-colored  fluid  into 
the  mesenteric  glands,  and  in  the  third  one  I  found  no  abnormal  condi- 
tion of  any  organ  to  be  present.  In  all  of  these  3  I  examined  the 
alimentary  canal  very  closely,  but  failed  to  find  any  pathological  changes 
in  its  membranes  or  glands  ;  these  animals  had  each  lost  both  hind  feet. 
In  carefully  considering  the  conditions  presented  by  all  of  these  diseased 
cattle,  and  well  weighing  the  value  of  the  histories  as  given  by  the 
owners,  I  firmly  believe  that  the  disease  may  be  called  the  "chronic"  or 
''  gangrenous  form  of  ergotism." 

Ziemssen  says: 

It  is  not  certainly  known  why  in  the  one  case  the  ergotism  assumes  the  spasmodic, 
in  the  other  the  gangrenous  form.  But  it  seems  remarkable  that  the  spasmodic  form 
formerly  prevailed  chiefly  in  Germany,  while  the  gangrenous  form  was  found  princi- 
pally in  France,  and  there  particularly  in  the  Sologne.  But  this  difference  does  not 
hold  universally,  for  epidemics  of  the  gangrenous  form  have  appeared  also  in  Ger- 
many, Austria,  Russia,  and  Sweden.  It  is  not  known  whether  this  variety  depends 
upon  the  difference  in  the  activity  of  the  ergot  in  difl'erent  seasons,  or  whether  such 
changes  are  the  result  of  some  i)eculiar  property  of  the  ground  in  which  the  corn 
grows.  In  the  Sologne  it  was  generally  the  ergot  of  maize  which  produced  the 
poisonous  symptoms,  whereas  in  Germany  the  ergot  of  rye  was  almost  exclusively  men- 
tioned as  the  cause  of  the  disease.  It  is,  however,  very  improbable  that  the  difference 
between  these  iihiesses  is  dependent  on  the  different  parent  phmts,  because  at  least 
therapeutically  the  same  effects  can  be  produced  by  the  ergot  of  nuiize  as  by  that  of 
rye,  when  the  quantities  are  equal.  It  is  most  probable,  then,  that  there  is  a  simple 
quantitative  difference  in  the  absolute  and  relative  quantity  of  the  i^oison  taken  into 
the  system. 


100        CODTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 
Of  the  action  upon  the  hiiinau  system  the  same  writer  sajs  : 

Tho  poison  of  this  drug  (ergot)  lias  a  special  and  most  powerful  action  upon  the 
skin.  Besides  very  abundant  perspiration,  pustules  often  break  out,  or  even  larger 
furunculi.  The  exanthemata  sometimes  resemble  scabious  eczema.  They  appear  in 
the  later  stage  of  the  malady;  as,  e.  g.,  in  Aschotf's  case,  fourteen  days  after  the  first 
appearance  of  symptoms  of  poisoning.  But  other  disturbances  of  nutrition  in  the 
peripheral  organs  are  also  reported,  as,  e.  g.,  whitlows  on  the  fingers,  occurring  as 
late  as  the  fourth  and  fifth  week,  and  diseases  of  the  finger  nails,  which  are  encir- 
cled by  a  dark  ring.  Cardiac  contractions  ai'e  generally  slow  and  feeble,  the  arteries 
are  constricted  and  contain  little  blood.  The  respiration  is  very  labored  during  the 
spasms,  but  tolerably  regular  in  the  free  intervals.  When  death  supervenes  it  is 
usually  not  until  after  a  fortnight  or  later ;  the  convulsions  may  have  ceased,  yet 
loss  of  sight  and  hearing,  with  violent  headache,  stupor,  and  delirum,  may  set  in, 
attended  with  diarrhea ;  and  thus  the  fatal  stage  may  assume  the  form  of  typhus  and 
general  collapse.  Death  is  generally  ushered  in  by  either  convulsions  or  paralytic 
symptoms.  The  whole  form  of  the  illness,  therefore,  is  very  variable,  and  its  course 
highly  irregular.     The  illness  may  last  four  to  eight  weeks,  and  even  longer. 

The  symptoms  which  characterize  gangrenous  ergotism  as  such,  often  appear  within 
from  two  to  seven  days,  but  are  frequently  delayed  for  two  and  three  weeks.  An 
erysipelatous  redness  shows  itself  on  some  spots  in  the  periphery,  most  frequently 
on  the  toes  and  feet,  but  also  on  the  fingers  and  hands,  more  rarely  on  the  ears  and 
nose ;  soon  after,  the  epidermis  is  raised  like  a  bladder  by  serous  exudation ;  the 
ichorous  contents  of  this  are  soon  discharged,  and  a  gangrenous  spot  more  or  less 
large  is  left.     Then  dry  gangrene  develops  very  rapidly  at  the  affected  spot. 

The  part  affected  is  very  painful  while  the  redness  is  invading  it ;  but  later  on  it  be- 
comes quite  insensible.  The  gangrenous  sjiot  may  exhibit  either  the  dry  or  moist  form, 
according  to  whether  the  discharge  was  checked  or  encouraged;  upon  this  also  de- 
pends the  greater  or  less  intenseuess  of  the  odor  or  putrefaction.  In  some  cases  the 
gangrene  was  limited  to  one  or  more  toes,  sometimes  only  to  single  phalanges;  iu 
other  cases,  however,  the  entire  foot  or  hand  was  affected;  not  infrequently  the  gan- 
orene  extended  to  the  trunk;  it  was  possible  for  the  patient  to  lose  both  feet  or  both 
arms.  Indeed,  a  few  cases  are  reported  in  which  all  four  extremities  were  lost.  The 
gangrenous  parts  become  separated  from  the  healthy  tissue  by  a  well-defined  line  of  de- 
markation,  and  the  affected  part  may  fall  off  itself  or  must  be  removed  by  an  opera- 
tion. This  process  of  demarkation  is  often  attended  with  serious  disturbances  of  the 
general  condition  of  the  patient;  sometimes  a  modified  form  of  continued  fever  is  de- 
veloped followed  by  phthisical  changes;  in  a  few  cases,  from  absorption  of  ichorous 
matter,  pya;mia  and  septiciBmia  set  in,  and  are,  of  course,  fjital.  When  the  gan- 
grene was  confined  to  parts  of  minor  importance,  the  patients  usually  recovei-ed ; 
greater  losses  were  naturally  more  frequently  fatal.  In  some  cases  obstinate  diarrhea 
brought  on  marasmus  and  death,  even  when  the  extent  of  the  gangrene  was  not  very 
considerable.  We  must  mention,  however,  that  in  many  cases  the  diseased  process 
did  not  advance  beyond  the  erysipelatous  redness ;  marked  cyanosis  may  be  observed^ 
and  yet  a  separation  may  take  place  and  the  circulation  be  restored.  The  duration 
of  the  entire  illness  varies,  and  may  be  protracted  through  several  months.  In  favor- 
able cases  the  course  is  ended  iu  a  few  weeks. 

This  form  of  gangrene,  like  all  other  forms,  depends  on  the  fact  that  the  part  af- 
fected is  deprived  of  its  blood  supply,  and  its  nutrition  thereby  arrested ;  consequently, 
it  must  pass  into  a  state  of  decomposition.  The  only  question  which  can  be  advanced 
here  is  whether  it  is  inflammation  which  leads  to  gangrene,  or  whether  the  process  is 
of  a  non-inflammatory  character,  resembling  that  which  occurs  when  all  the  vessels  go- 
ing to  a  limb  are  ligatured.  When  we  consider  that  the  initial,  so-called  erysipela- 
tous redness  is  simply  dependent  on  the  cyanosis,  and  that  these  spots  are  not,  as  in 
a  case  of  inflammation,  hot  and  swollen,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  become  very  cold, 
and  warmth  cannot  be  restored  iu  them,  and  that  the  affected  limb  is  not  at  all  swollen, 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATFLV  ANIMALS.         101 

the  hypothesis  that  such  a  gangrene  is  of  an  inflamm.itoiy  6h'jira'*,t^r-jaue^.  a'jprloH  \^& 
rejected.  When  we  further  reflect  that  there  is  no  fever  at  the  outset,  the  second  hy- 
pothesis becomes  still  more  probable.  Exclusion  of  an  extremity  from  its  ordinary 
blood  supply  is  quite  conceivable  from  our  current  views  of  the  action  of  ergot  on  the 
vessels  and  the  distribution  of  blood. 

Oil  the  lOtli  of  April  1  was  requested  to  go  8  miles  north  of  Sterling 
to  the  residence  of  Mr.  John  Kratz,  who  said  that  he  had  a  number  of 
cattle  affected  with  lameness  and  sore  feet.  I  proceeded  to  his  place 
at  once,  and  examined  his  herd  of  cattle,  numbering  30  head.  I  found 
11  cows  and  heifers  more  or  less  affected  with  excoriations  in  the  clefts 
of  their  feet.  In  several  cases  I  found  these  excoriations  to  extend 
around  the  bnlb  of  the  heels,  causing  a  separation  of  the  horny  walls 
at  the  corouet  from  the  fibrous  structure  of  the  foot.  In  one  cow,  twelve 
years  old,  I  found  considerable  ulceration  at  the  bulb  of  the  heels  of 
both  fore  feet;  the  matter  burrowiug  beneath  the  horny  wall  caused  a 
destruction  of  the  wall  to  the  extent  of  1  inch  downwards,  and  the  im- 
perfect formation  of  an  inch  of  the  horn  at  the  front  part  of  the  feet 
indicated  that  she  had  been  affected  for  two  months  or  longer.  These 
excoriations  discharged  a  semi-liquid  matter,  which  gave  off  an  odor 
like  to  that  of  thrash  in  horses'  feet.  Mr.  Kratz  stated  that  two  of  the 
cows  walked  with  difficult}"  for  several  weeks,  and  that  for  a  week  or 
more  previous  to  their  lameness  he  detected  the  peculiar  odor  arising 
from  the  feet  while  milking.  On  the  13th  of  March  he  bought  a  thor. 
oughbred  short-horn  heifer,  and  one  week  after  he  brought  her  home 
she  also  became  lame.  When  I  saw  her  she  was  affected  in  all  four  of 
her  feet,  and  was  exceedingly"  lame.  All  of  his  cattle,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  that  were  over  two  years  old,  were  affected.  In  none  of  the 
feet  was  there  any  swelling,  but  they  were  extremely  sensitive  to  hand- 
ling. The  disease  appeared  as  frequent  in  the  fore  as  in  the  hind  feet, 
and  in  several  cases  three  or  all  four  of  the  feet  were  affected  alike.  The 
majority  of  them  became  lame  while  the  ground  was  yet  frozen  up.  Mr. 
Kratz  has  one  of  the  finest  bank  barns  in  the  county,  and  takes  excel- 
lent care  of  his  stock.  He  stables  his  cattle  at  night  and  on  stormy 
days;  thej^  have  good  bedding  at  night,  and  the  stalls  are  cleaned 
daily.  In  pleasant  weather  the  cattle  were  turned  into  the  barn-yard. 
This  yard  is  covered  almost  daily  with  clean  straw  to  be  worked  into 
manure.  The  yard  is  sloping  and  well  drained,  and  the  cattle  drink 
well  water  from  a  trough  laid  in  the  yard.  During  the  M'inter  the  cat- 
tle received  ground  feed,  timothy,  and  clover  hay,  but  about  the  1st  of 
March  he  began  to  feed  rye  bran  and  second-crop  meadow  hay ;  the 
latter  contained  a  large  proportion  of  blue  or  June  grass,  and  an  exam  - 
ination  of  it  revealed  that  it  was  ergotized ;  almost  every  seed  capsule 
contained  the  fungus.  If  the  ergot  in  the  hay  did  not  produce  the  dis- 
ease I  am  unable  to  account  for  its  origin.  The  cattle  were  not  in  a 
plethoric  condition ;  the  yard  was  free  from  mud,  and  they  were  well 
housetl,  and  the  stables. kept  scrupulously  clean. 


102         CONTAQiOUS.  DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

3?b&  (iissjase .\v:^s  what  wMiild  commonly  be  called  foul  iu  tlie  foot.  I 
treated  tfiem  by  cleauing  out  tlie  clefts  of  their  feet,  applying  carbolic 
acid  solution  and  tar  secured  to  place  by  a  wad  of  oakum  and  bandage. 
In  ten  days  recovery  was  complete. 

Mr.  Thomas  Comboy,  of  Hume  Township,  had  2,  and  Mr.  Edward 
Tyne  had  1,  atiected  similar  to  those  of  Kratz. 

Eespectfully  submitted. 

M.  E.  TRUMBOWER,  Y.  S. 
Sterling,  III.,  Blarch  27,  1884. 


I 


SYIVOAJUUS   TRACHEAL.IS. 

EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES. 

Plate  I.  Fig.  1. — The  trachea  of  an  adult  pheasant,  whose  death  was  caused  by  the 
gapes,  slit  open  longitudinally,  and  showing,  in  its  interior  and  attached 
to  the  mucous  membrane,  about  thirty  pairs  of  syngames  in  various  stages 
of  development  (natural  size). 

Fig.  2. — A  pair  of  syngames,  attached  with  the  mouth  of  the  male  and  that  of  the 
female  (enlarged  4  diameters). 

Fig.  3. — A  pair  of  syngames  enlarged  10  diameters  ;  A,  male ;  B,  female;  showing  the 
intestinal  canal,  the  oesophagus,  and  the  buccal  capsule.  In  the  female 
B  may  be  seen,  in  addition,  the  uterus  and  its  horns  filled  with  ova  and 
the  ovarian  tube  coiled  around  the  uterus  and  the  intestine.  In  the  male 
A  the  testicle  is  seen  coiled  about  the  digestive  tube. 

Fig.  4.  Mouth  of  a  female  syngame  ;  A,  seen  from  its  face ;  B,  from  the  side  (enlarged 
40  diameters). 

Fig.  5. — Portion  of  the  neck  of  a  female  (enlarged  25  diameters),  showing  at  a  a  the 
cuticle  finely  striated  ;  at  b  the  subcutaneous,  fusiform,  muscular  fibers; 
at  c  the  oesophagus  ;  at  d  a  salivary  gland  ;  and  at  e  the  anterior  extrem- 
ity of  the  intestine  into  which  the  oesophagus  opens,  and  which  is  seen 
lined  with  hepatic  cells. 

Plate  II,  Fig.  6. — Eeproductive  organs  of  the  female  (enlarged  8  diameters)  ;  a,  ute- 
rus ;  b  b,  uterine  horns  ;  c  c,  oviducts  or  Fallopian  tubes ;  d  d,  ovaries. 

Fig.  7.  Reproductive  organs  of  male  (enlarged  20  diameters);  a,  spicules;  b,  sper- 
matic caual;  c,  vesicula  seminalis  ;  d,  testes. 

Fig.  8. — Ova  in  different  stages  of  development  (enlarged  260  diameters).  A,  vitellus, 
segmented  and  muriform  ;  B,  ovum  with  granular  vitellus,  becoming  con- 
stricted at  its  middle,  the  embryo  developing  laterally;  C,  ovum  with 
embryo  fully  developed,  folded  like  the  figure  8  ;  D,  ovum  with  the  valves 
.  at  the  extremities  detached,  and  the  embryo  emerging. 

Fig.  1>. — Embryo  directly  after  leaving  the  egg  (enlarged  260  diameters). 

Fig.  10. — Embryo  somewhat  older,  undergoing  the  first  molt  (same  enlargement). 

Fig.  11. — Nymph  (enlarged  100  diameters) ;  a,  rudiment  of  the  genital  organ. 

5751  DA 


5  V ra  \  If  irs  Tii.-\ *^ ni^  %  iin. 


1 .  1  le  death  was  caused  hr  ****■ 
ing.  in  its  iiitejior  and  ar 

ire  cf  s..vn,2;amos  in  varioii 

,.i;.lf;  and   flia^ 


In  the 


th);  a,  nU 
',  ovaries. 
lae;  V,  apt 


,  ovum  wi' 
;uji-,d;    (.'  'Iithevalv 


Plate    I. 


Megnin  adnat.det! 


A.HoeniCo.lirtioMustic,  Baltimore. 

THE    GAPE  -WOHM  OF  FOWLS, 
Syngamus  trachealis  ( v.  Siebold.)  -  Sclerostoma  syngamus  (  Diesing.) 


Plate   H. 


A.Hoenl  Ca.Uihocausttc.  Baltimore. 


THE    GAPE  -WORM  OF  FOWLS, 
Syngamus  trachfialis  (  v,  Siebold.)  -  Sclerostoma  syngamus  (  Oiesing. 


I 


LIBRARY, 

UNIVERSITY 

— OF— 

CALIFORNIA. 


THE  GAPE  DISEASE  OF  FOWLS,  AND  THE  PARASITE 
BY  WHICH  IT  IS  CAUSED. 


MEMOIR  OX  A  VERMINOUS  EPIZOOTIC  DISEASE  OF  TSE  PREASAXTRIES*  AND  ON 
THE  PARASITE  WHICH  CAUSES  IT,  THE  STNOAMUS  TRACHEALIS  (SIEB.),  SCLER- 
OSTOMA  STNOAMUS  (DIES.),  BT  M.  P.  MEGNIX,  LAV  RE  ATE  OF  THE  INSTITUTE 
{ACADEMIE  DES  SCIENCES),  MEMBER  OF  THE  SOCI£tE  DE  BIOLOGIE.  HONORARY 
ASSOCIATE  OF  THE  ROYAL  VETERINARY  COLLEGE  OF  LONDON,  ETC. 

[Translated  by  Dr.  Theobald  Smith.] 

For  several  years  past  tlie  pheasautries  of  the  hunting  forests  of 
France  have  been  ravaged  by  a  most  destructive  malady,  which  has 
killed  the  fowls  by  the  hundreds  and  even  thousands.  The  cause  is  a 
parasite,  a  so-called  red  worm,  which  develops  in  the  trachea  of  birds 
and  finally  sufibcates  them.  Particularly  the  young  subjects,  from  six 
weeks  to  three  months  of  age,  are  apt  to  be  the  victims,  although  adults 
by  no  means  are  always  spared.  The  chief  symptoms  of  this  affection 
are  a  suppressed  or  aborted  cough  and  a  characteristic  gaping,  whence 
is  derived  the  English  name  "  gapes."  It  appears  to  have  been  ob- 
served long  ago  in  England  and  America,  whilst  with  us  it  has  not  yet 
been  studied,  a  fact  which  seems  to  indicate  that  it  has  been  introduced 
from  England,  and  that  we  owe  its  introduction  to  commerce  by  which 
the  hunting  grounds  have  been  restocked. 

I  investigated  this  disease  on  the  site  of  its  activity  in  the  inclosures  of 
the  forest  of  Fontainebleau  in  1878  and  1879.  I  received  many  cadavers 
killed  by  the  red  worm  from  different  localities  of  central  and  northern 
France;  from  the  poultry-yard  of  Baron  Rothschild,  atEambouillet,  where 
the  daily  losses  amounted  to  1,200  ;  from  M.  de  Janz6,  of  Gournay  ;  from 
the  duchess  de  la  Rochefoucault,  at  Montmirail ;  from  the  inclosures 
at  Chauteau-neuf,  and  from  various  localities  of  Loiret  and  de  I'Indre. 
Finally  a  dispatch,  in  October,  1880,  informed  me  that  the  epidemic 
had  appeared  in  the  royal  pheasautries  at  Turin,  and  was  threatening 
to  do  much  mischief. 

This  disease  is  not  at  present  raging  on  the  continent  only.  For  ten 
years  it  has  been  the  cause  of  severe  losses  in  England.  Dr.  Crisp 
estinuites  that  the  red  wormtlestroys  annually  half  a  million  chickens, 
excluding  i)heasants  and  partridges,  so  that  he  says  it  would  be  of 
truly  national  importance  to  find  the  meaiis  of  preventing  the  invasion 


*  This  monograph,  finished  November,  1880,  has  reference  to  the  epidemics  in  the 
l)heasantries  of  Fiance. 

io:i 


104        CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF   DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

of  this  red  worm  or  of  destroying  it.*  Furthermore,  the  following 
statement  is  taken  from  the  report  of  the  meeting  of  the  Loadon  Ento- 
mological Society,  October  1,  1879  : 

The  president  announced  that  Lord  Walsingham,  in  conjunction  with  other  gentle- 
men, had  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  council  the  sum  of  £100  to  be  awarded  in  two 
prizes  of  £50  each  for  the  following  subjects  : 

1.  The  best  and  most  complete  life  history  of  ScJeroatoma  syngamus,  supposed  to 
produce  the  so-called  gapes  in  poultry,  game,  and  other  birds. 

2.  The  best  and  most  complete  life  history  of  Strongylus  pergraciUs  (Cob.),  supposed 
to  produce  the  grou.se  disease. 

No  life  history  would  be  considered  satisfactory  unless  the  different  stages  of  de- 
velopment were  observed  and  recorded ;  the  competition  was  open  to  naturalists  of 
all  nationalities.  Essays  in  English,  German,  or  French  were  to  be  sent  to  the  sec- 
retary of  the  society  on  or  before  October  15,  1882. 

Although  birds  only  are  concerned  in  this  matter,  it  is  obvious  that 
the  economic  interest  involved  in  a  solution  of  the  questions  con- 
cerning the  gapes  is  sufficiently  great.  The  scientific  interest  is  no  less 
so,  because  there  Is  to  be  determined  not  only  the  zoological  position  of 
the  worm  under  consideration,  and  its  role  in  the  terrible  disease  which 
destroys  the  gallinaceans,  both  domestic  and  wild,  but  also  its  mode  of 
reproduction,  a  point  hitherto  entirely  unknown. 

This  is  the  subject  of  the  present  memoir,  a  memoir  in  which  I  be- 
lieve I  have  cleared  up  all  the  pending  questions  upon  the  zoological 
position  of  the  red  worm,  on  its  anatomy  and  physiology,  on  its  role  as 
a  cause  of  the  gapes,  finally  on  its  embryogeny  and  metamorphosis, 
and  consequently  upon  its  mode  of  propagation,  and  ui)on  the  best 
means  of  preventing  its  multiplication  and  arresting  its  ravages. 

HISTORICAL. 

The  first  mention  of  this  disease  was  made  by  Dr.  Wiesenthal,  who 
observed  it  in  1799,  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  among  hens  and  turkeys.t  In 
1806, 1807,  and  1809,  Georges  Montaguf  saw  this  epizootic  among  chick- 
ens in  England.  He  believed  that  of  all  the  birds  of  the  poultry  yard 
only  the  hen  could  be  its  victim,  because  he  observed  that  the  turkeys 
and  ducks  living  with  the  infested  hens  were  not  attacked.  He  ob- 
served the  same  malady  in  young  pheasants  at  a  time  when  they  as- 
sume the  livery  which  distinguishes  the  two  sexes,  and  in  partridges 
whether  the  locality  was  elevated  or  low  and  humid. 

Both  Wiesenthal  and  Montagu  recognized  that  this  disease  was  caused 
by  worms  occupying  the  trachea  and  extending  occasionally  to  the  phar- 
ynx, but  never  as  far  as  the  lungs.  They  found  as  many  as  twenty  at- 
tached to  the  mucous  membrane,  which,  together  with  the  lungs,  was 

*Fath.  Society  of  London,  October  15,  1872,  and  Med,  Times,  1672,  p.  474. 
iMedical  and  Physical  Journal  (1799),  II,  p.  204. 

tAccount  of  a  species  of  fasciola  which  infests  the  trachea  of  poultry,  with  a  mode  of 
cure.  Trans,  of  the  Jl'ernerian  N<tf.  Hist.  Society,  I  (1811),  p.  195. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  105 

in  an  inflamed  condition.     These  entozoa,  acting  finally  as  an  obstacle 
to  the  passage  of  air,  produced  death  by  asphyxia. 

Wiesenthal  did  not  occupy  himself  with  the  specific  determination  of 
the  worm,  but  Montagu  regarded  it  as  a  distome,  a  fasciola  (fluke)  of  a 
particular  kind,  having  a  round  cylindrical  body  with  two  sucking 
disks,  borne  on  two  peduncles  of  unequal  length. 

Rudolphi*  and  the  authors  of  his  time  continued  to  regard  the  cause 
of  the  gapes  in  the  gallinaceans  as  a  distome,  and  included  it  in  the  spe- 
cies JDistoma  lineare  (Rud). 

Shortly  after,  helminthologists  discovered,  ui)on  a  variety  of  birds,  a 
curious  parasite  likewise  inhabiting  the  trachea,  but  this  time  belong- 
ing to  the  order  of  nematodes,  and  especially  characterized  by  the  sin- 
gular habit  of  permanent  union  of  the  sexes.  Siebold  t  made  it  the  type 
of  a  new  genus— the  genus  Syngamus  ;  later,  however,  yielding  to  the 
observations  of  Kathusius,  he  renounced  his  first  idea  and  united  this 
helminth  with  the  strongyli  in  imming  it  Strongylus  tracliealis.X 

After  the  creation  of  the  genus  Sclerostoma  by  Dujardin,  in  which  this 
author  unites  the  old  strongyli  possessing  a  month  which  is  armed  with 
a  tough  coriaceous  capsule,  Diesing  ])\siced  in  it  the  Strongylus  tracheaUs 
of  Nathusius  under  the  name  of  Sclerostoma  syngamus.  Finally  Dujar- 
din §  restored  for  this  parasite  the  old  genus  Syngamus  of  Siebold,  and 
gave  it  the  old  specific  name  of  Syngamus  trachealis  of  the  same  author. 

Dujardin  ascribes  to  the  genus  Syngamus  the  following  characters : 

Worms  ordinarily  coupled  in  a  permanent  manner  or  by  union  of  the  integuments  ; 
the  male,  cylindrical,  much  smaller  than  the  irregularly  cylindrical  female,  with  con- 
stricted neck  and  tail  tapering  to  a  point ;  head  globular,  large,  supported  by  an  in- 
ternal corneous  capsule  ;  mouth  large,  irregularly  rounded,  with  six  or  seven  broad- 
ened lobes;  pharynx  provided  with  tleshy  papilht* ;  integument  folded  or  wrinkled 
without  regular  stri:e.  The  male  has  a  truncated  tail,  the  latter  pi-ovided  with  a  mem- 
braneous expansion  which  fastens  itself  to  the  integument  of  the  female.  The  female 
has  the  tail  conical,  elongated  ;  vulva  situated  anteriorly  at  the  base  of  the  constric- 
tion forming  the  neck  ;  eggs  large,  elliptical. 

The  following,  according  to  the  same  author,  are  the  characters  of 
the  only  species  Syngamus  trachealis,  which  this  genus  includes  : 

Body  soft,  colored  bright  red  hy  a  liiiuid  interposed  between  the  viscera.  ]\Iale  4 
to  4.5™'"  (.157— .177  inch)  long;  .4"™  (.016  inch)  wide  ;  enlarged,  obliquely  truncated 
head  about  .7'"'"  (.028  inch)  broad.  Tail  terminated  obliquely  by  a  convex,  unilate- 
ral, membraneous  sac  or  bursa  .25  to  .3"""  (.009  to  .012  inch)  long,  attached  to  the 
8ui)erior  border  of  the  vulva  of  the  female  and  supported  by  12  to  15  equal  rays.  Fe- 
male 13""»  (.512  inch)  long  ;  .3  to  1'"™  (.01  to  .04  inch)  broad,  irregularly  folded  and 
wrinkled;  head  1.3"""  (.05  inch)  broad;  tail  resembling  an  elongated  cone;  anus 
1.2"'"'  (.047  inch)  from  extremity  ;  projecting  vulva  at  the  base  of  a  neck  1.5  to  2""" 
(.058  to  .08  inch)  long,  inclined  to  one  side;  eggs  smooth,  elliptical,  .087  to  .093"'"' 
(.0034  to  .003(5  inch)  long,  with  a  short  terminal  neck. 


*Synops.  pp.  414,  415. 

\  Archiv  f.  Naturf/eschichte,  Wiegmann  (1835),  p.  1. 

tL.  c,  1830. 

v\  nintorei  iiat.  den  livlininthefi  i»  suiten  a  Bnffo)i.    Koret,  Paris,  1845,  p.  200. 


106         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Dnjardiu  found  the  SynfjamustraeheaUs  to  the  uumber  of  five  pairs  in 
the  trachea  of  two  magpies  {Corvus  pica)  at  Eeiiues.  He  was  able  to 
determine  that  even  after  maceration  the  male  could  not  be  separated 
from  the  female  without  rupture  of  the  integuments. 

This  parasite  has  been  found  by  Nathusius  either  in  Germany  or  in 
England  within  the  trachea  of  the  following  species  :  The  swift  [Cypse- 
Ills  apus),  the  starling  {Sturnus  vulgaris),  the  green  woodpecker  {Picus 
viridis),  the  pheasant  cock  {Phasiamis  gallus),  and  the  black  stork  {Ci- 
conia  nigra),  granting  that  it  was  the  same  species. 

What  relation  exists  between  the  two  parasites  of  the  bird's  trachea 
spoken  of  above — the  fasciola  of  Montagu,  the  cause  of  the  gapes,  and 
the  Synganius  of  Siebold  ? 

Dnjardiu  and  Diesing  regarded  as  entirelj^  erroneous  the  classifica- 
tion among  the  distomes  of  the  parasite  found  by  Montagu  in  the  trachea 
of  birds  affected  with  the  gapes.  This  parasite  was  to  them  none  other 
than  the  Syngaynus,  but  as  they  did  not  enter  into  any  details  concern- 
ing the  accidents  which  it  is  liable  to  produce,  some  doubts  appear  to 
have  remained  in  the  minds  of  French  helminthologists  concerning  this 
assimilation.  For  we  read  in  M.  Davaine's  treatise  on  Entozoa  (2d  ed. 
p.  37)  the  following  statement  concerning  the  parasites  which  cause  the 
gapes  among  the  Gallinae : 

These  eutozoa,  which  for  a  long  time  have  beeu  referred  to  the  distomes,  are  proba- 
bly identical  with  the  Sclerostoma  si/ngamus,  a  nematode  worm,  to  which  the  perma- 
nent union  of  male  and  female  has  given  a  particular  physiognomy  which  has  de- 
ceived the  earlier  observers. 

The  word  "  probably,"  in  the  above  extract  well  indicates  that  for  M. 
Davaine  there  was  as  yet  no  certainty  that  the  gapes  was  caused  by 
the  Synganius  trachealis  ;  there  was  only  a  probability.  Moreover,  in 
the  latest,  fullest,  and  most  noteworthy  article  which  has  appeared  in 
France  on  the  subject  of  helminthology  as  applied  to  domestic  ani- 
mals,* the  author,  M.  Baillet,  without  saying  a  single  word  about  the 
terrible  disease,  the  gapes,  with  which  in  fact  he  does  not  seem  to  be 
acquainted,  limits  himself  to  noting  the  existence  of  Syngamus  bj'  the 
following  sentence  : 

Before  concluding  the  tribe  of  sclerostomes,  we  will  mention  the  genus  Synganius 
(Siebold),  a  parasite  of  various  birds  which  has  been  occasionally  observ^ed  in  the 
trachea  of  the  cock  and  the  hen. 

This  is  all  he  says  of  this  parasite.  Up  to  the  present,  then,  there 
have  been  only  vague  conceptions  or  none  at  all,  concerning  the  patho- 
genic action  of  syngamus.t  Even  its  natural  history  is  poorlj^  known, 
since  in  a  remarkable  monograph  on  a  new  nematode  of  the  genus  Red- 
rurisl  Prof.  E.  Perrier,  citing  incidently  the  helminths  which  present  the 

*  Article  Helminthe,  Diet.  V4l4r'm.  of  Bouley  and  Reynal,  vol.  HI.  Paris,  1866. 
t  According  to  Cobbold  the  Sipigamus  is  the  sole  cause  of  the  gapes. 
{  Nouvelles  Archives  clu  Museum,  vol.  VII.,  Paris,  1871. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         107 

peculiarity  of  a  male  united  permaueutly  to  a  female,  says,  concerning: 
the  parasite  under  discussion,  page  G  : 

Among  the  nematodes  of  the  genus  Syngamus  the  male  lives  attached  to  the  female 
hy  means  of  a  caudal  sucking  disk  and  twines  himself  about  her  as  does  the  male  of 
Hedruis. 

This  last  statement  italicized  contains  an  error  which  proves  that  M. 
Perrier  had  not  yet  seen  the  syugames  in  the  position  which  they  occupy 
in  the  trachea,  for  the  male  is  never  coiled  about  the  female,  as  we  will 
show  further  on,  and  as  we  have  enabled  M.  Perrier  to  demonstrate  for 
himself. 

We  are  now  permitted  to  say,  after  having  studied  the  gapes  in  the 
various  pheasantries  of  central  France,  and  the  environments  of  Paris, 
where  this  terrible  epizootic  has  claimed  thousands  of  victims,  that  we 
know  positively  that  the  parasite  which  causes  it,  the  so-called  forked- 
worm,  or  red  worm  of  the  pheasant  breeders,  is  none  other  than  the 
Syngamus  trachealis,  and  by  no  means  a  distome  ;  we  know  that  it  cor- 
responds entirely  with  the  general  characters  traced  by  Dujardin  and 
Cobbold,  if  we  except  a  considerable  number  of  anatomical  and  physio- 
logical details  which  we  have  to  add  or  to  rectify,  and  its  migrations 
and  habits  which  have  thus  far  remained  wholly  undescribed.  There 
was  complete  ignorance  of  its  mode  of  development,  reproduction,  and 
its  transmigrations.  All  these  we  have  been  able  to  follow  experiment- 
ally or  in  the  poultry-yards,  and  hence  to  deduce  the  most  rational  in- 
dications to  combat  the  gapes  successfully  and  to  arrest  its  spread. 
Experience  has  fully  confirmed  our  deductions. 

ZOOLOGICAL   AND  ANATOMICAL  DESCRIPTION. 

We  must,  at  first,  rectify  the  diagnosis  of  the  genus  and  species  as 
given  by  the  authors,  because  it  appears  to  us  faulty,  especiallj"  in 
that  which  refers  to  the  mouth-parts.  We  present  the  following  diag- 
nosis of  the  genus : 

Mouth  large,  supported  by  a  hollow,  hemispherical,  chitinous  capsule, 
its  background  furnished  with  six  or  seven  chitinous,  cutting  papillaj ; 
border  thick  and  turned  back  (reirows«e),cutinto  six  symmetrical  lobes, 
united  to  the  integument  by  its  entire  external  face,  and  furnished  ,by 
it  with  four  equal  membranous  lips,  which  form  a  prolongation  to  the  lobed 
border  of  the  capsule.  To  this  they  are  united  by  four  bands,  which 
attach  the  commissures  of  the  lips  to  the  four  deeper  notches  between 
the  lobes  of  the  capsule.  Female  fixed  by  its  mouth  to  the  tracheal 
uuicous  membrane  of  its  host ;  the  male  likewise  attached  by  its  mouth 
to  the  same  mucous  membrane  and  united  immovably  by  its  caudal 
bursa  to  the  vulva  of  the  female,  around  which  it  is  soldered,  as  it  were. 
The  two  spicules  equal,  contiguous,  extremely  fine,  and  very  short. 
Ova  provided  with  a  valve  at  each  end  of  the  longer  axis.  •  The  eel-like 
embryos  are  developed  within  the  uterus  of  the  female  whence  they 


108         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

emerge  ouly  at  the  death  of  the  latter.     Cuticle,  with  very  delicate 
striae,  disappearing  with  age,  but  persisting-  in  the  cervical  region. 

Are  there  several  species  of  Syngamus  ?  Up  to  the  present  time  hel  - 
niinthologists  have  agreed  to  admit  but  a  single  species,  the  Syngamus 
trachealis  of  Siebold  ;  but  the  characters  which  they  attribute  to  it  differ 
in  certain  points  from  those  of  the  species  which  we  have  studied  as  in- 
festing the  pheasants  in  France.  Thus  the  latter  attains  twice  the 
dimensions  given  by  Dujardin.  The  head  of  the  male,  says  this  ob- 
server, is  obliquely  truncated,  while  in  the  species  examined  by  us  it 
is  squarely  terminal.  The  tail  of  the  female,  Dujardin  continues,  is  an 
elongated  cone  and  the  anus  1.2""™  (.047  inch)  from  the  extremity, 
while  in  the  parasite  of  our  pheasants  the  tail  is  either  abruptly  conical  | 
or  rounded  like  a  stump  and  pointed  ;  in  other  words,  it  has  the  form 
of  a  cylindroconical  appendage,  springing  from  the  middle  of  the 
rounded  posterior  extremity  (Plate  I,  Fig.  3)  5  the  anus  opens  at  the 
base  of  this  small  tail,  which  is  not  more  than  .1  to  .2'"™  (.004  to  .008 
inches)  long. 

Unless  there  was  some  error  of  observation,  or  some  typographical 
mistake  in  the  figures,  or  unless  Dujardin  had  not  seen  the  highest 
degree  of  development  which  the  syngames  attain,  the  parasite  of  the 
pheasant  would  constitute  a  distinct  species,  or  at  least  a  variety. 

Without  wishing  to  decide  this  question,  which  is  only  possible  by 
making  a  direct  comparison  of  the  individuals  found  on  different  species 
of  birds,  we  shall  give  the  diagnosis  of  Syngamus  trachealis  after  the 
species  or  variety  which  infests  the  i^heasants  before  offering  a  detailed 
description. 

Body  cylindrical,  becoming  with  age,  in  the  female  onlj-,  more  or  less 
sinuous  or  torulose  ;  colored  bright  red  by  the  coloring  matter  of  the  ab- 
sorbed blood  which  tinges  the  nutritive  fluid  interjiosed  between  the 
organs. 

Male  2"""  (.079  inch)  long  and  .2""'  (.0078  inch)  broad  at  the  beginning 
of  union  with  the  female,  and  reaching  a  length  of  6'"™  (.236  inch)  nnd 
a  breadth  of  .5™""  (.02  inch)  at  the  end  of  ovulation.  Body  always  cylin- 
drical, surpassed  in  its  diameter  by  that  of  the  head  by  .2'^"'  to  .3'""" 
(.0078 — .012  inch) ;  posterior  extremity  slightly  club-shaped,  inclined,  ob- 
lique, terminated  by  a  membranous  bell-shaped  sac  or  bursa,  higher 
anteriorly  than  posteriorly,  where  it  is  cleft  and  notched  along  its  entire 
height,  supported  by  twelve  simple  rays,  united  to  the  vulva. 

Female  about  5»"'>  (.197  inch)  long  and  .35"""  (.0137  inch)  broad  at  the 
beginning  of  copulation,  attaining  a  length  of  20"""  to  22"""^  (-787 — .866 
inch),  and  a  breadth  at  the  middle  of  the  body  of  1.1"'"'  (.043  inch)  at 
the  end  of  ovulation  ;  body  at  first  cylindrical  with  delicately  striated 
integument,  becoming  later  more  or  less  sinuous,  torulose,  and  smooth, 
the  striic  persisting  only  in  the  cervical  region.  Head  1'""'  (.039  inch), 
broad  at  the  period  of  comi>lete  devclo[)ment,  surpassing  the  diameter 
of  the  neck  by  .2"""  (.0078  inch),  which  is  itself  smaller  by  .3"""  (.0118 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         109 

iuch)  than  the  diameter  of  the  middle  of  the  body.  Vulva  springing 
from  the  base  of  an  inclined  neck,  which  is  1.5'"™  to  3"""  (.059 — .118  inch) 
long.  Ova  innumerable,  smooth,  elliptical,  .085"""  to  .09"""  (.0033 — .0035 
inch)  long,  and  .05"'""  (.002  inch)  broad,  each  pole  closed  by  a  hood-like, 
hemispherical  valve,  which  becomes  entirely  detached  at  the  time  of 
hatchiug.  Embryos  eel-like,  developed  in  the  body  of  the  female,  which 
sets  them  at  liberty  only  by  its  death  and  the  destruction  of  its  body ; 
at  birth  they  measure  .28"^"^  (.011  inch). 

Habitat  of  the  adults. — Trachea  of  pheasants. 

We  shall  now  studj^  in  detail  the  various  parts  of  the  body  in  the  fol- 
lowing order : 

1.  The  general  envelope  of  the  body,  consisting  of  the  cuticle  and  the 
muscular  layer  lining  it ;  2,  the  digestive  tube  with  its  accessory  parts; 
3,  the  nervous  system  ;  4,  the  system  of  excretory  vessels ;  5,  the  male 
aud  female  genital  ajiparatus  as  it  exists  in  the  most  highly  developed 
adults. 

Body  envelope. — The  cuticle  (Plate  I,  Fig.  5,  «,  a)  is  very  thin,  about 
.05™"'  (.002  inch)  thick,  diaphanous,  in  appearance  homogeneous,  for  we 
have  been  unable  to  distinguish  several  layers,  as  has  been  done  with 
the  larger  nematodes.  In  young  subjects  it  bears  fine  transverse  strife, 
but  in  old  and  united  pairs  of  which  the  female  is  bearing  eggs,  and  es- 
pecially when  these  eggs  contain  well-developed  embryos,  the  stride  of  the 
trunk  are  completely  effaced,  but  persist  on  the  neck,  where  they  can 
be  best  seen  in  the  female,  in  which  they  are  .087™™  (.0031  inch)  apart 
each  fourth  or  fifth  being  deeper  than  the  rest.  Around  the  mouth  the 
cuticle  expands  like  a  collar  or  gamopetalous  corolla,  with  four  equal 
rounded  divisions  forming  four  lips.  At  the  same  time  it  furnishes  a 
broad  margin  to  the  thick  and  scalloped  border  of  the  buccal  armature. 
In  the  male  the  cuticle  goes  to  form  the  caudal,  bell-shaped  bursa, 
which  is  cleft  posteriorly  and  longer  anteriorly,  the  latter  aspect  being 
probably  the  true  dorsal  aspect  of  the  worm.  This  bursa  is  supported 
by  six  simple  rays  on  each  side.  It  caps  the  hemispherically  projecting 
vulva  of  the  female  and  is  united  to  it  so  intimately  that  even  after  the 
death  of  the  worms  and  their  maceration  in  water  it  becomes  torn  be- 
fore it  can  be  separated  from  the  vulva. 

The  muscular  layer  which  lines  the  internal  surface  of  the  cuticle 
forms  four  longitudinal  bands,  as  among  the  other  nematoid  m  orms,  two 
dorsal  and  two  ventral,  separated  from  each  other  by  four  linear  inter- 
vals. These  muscular  tracts  are  very  delicate  and  permit  the  internal 
organs  to  be  seen  through  them.  Only  the  superficial  layer  is  distin- 
guishable. It  consists  of  longitudinal  fusiform  fibers  (Plate  I,  Fig.  5,  b) 
aud  is  lined  with  i)arenchymatous  cells,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a 
deeper  muscular  layer. 

Digestive  apparat us.— In  the  digestis'e  tract  three  regions  may  be  dis- 
tinguished— the  mouth,  tlie  a'sopliagus,  and  the  intestine. 

The  mouth  (Plate  I,  Fig.  4,  A,  B)  opens  on  the  anterior  extremity  of 


110        CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  body.  It  is  surrounded  by  four  equal  symmetrical  lips  already  de- 
scribed. At  the  four  commissures  of  these  lips  may  be  seen  four  strong 
bands  or  nervures,  which  unite  the  membraneous  labial  circle  to  the  cori- 
aceous armature  of  the  mouth.  This  armature,  made  up  of  brown  chi- 
tine,  has  the  form  of  a  complete  hemispherical  capsule  or  cupule,  the 
thick  border  of  which  is  divided  into  symmetrical  but  unequal  lobes. 
These  consist  of  two  largo  lateral  lobes,  each  corresponding  to  a  lip, 
two  small  anterior  ones  corresponding  to  the  anterior  lip  and  two  small 
posterior  corresponding  to  the  posterior  lip.  At  the  opposite  and  sym- 
metrical notches  at  the  extremities  of  the  large  lateral  lobes  are  in- 
serted the  bands  or  ligaments  which  separate  or  which  unite  the  mem- 
braneous lips.  The  bottom  or  background  of  the  buccal  cavity  is  a 
true  pharynx,  to  which  is  attached  the  superior  end  of  the  oesophagus. 
It  is  pierced  by  a  round  aperture  opening  into  the  oesophageal  cavity. 
On  the  periphery  of  this  opening  are  disposed  six,  sometimes  seven,  radi- 
ating papillae,  hard  like  the  capsule  itself,  with  dorsal  cutting  edges. 
They  are  real  fixed  lancets,  performing  a  function  similar  to  those  of 
the  surgical  instrument  known  under  the  name  of  bdellometer  of  Scar- 
landiere. 

The  oesophagus  (Plate  1,  Fig.  5,  c)  is  relatively  short,  extending 
from  the  pharynx  to  the  middle  of  the  neck;  it  is  club-shaped  and  very 
thick.  Its  lumen  appears  to  us  tetraquetral  rather  than  triquetral,  as 
among  other  nematoid  worms.  In  fact,  the  pharyngeal  insertion  of  the 
tube  is  conical,  i.  e.,  with  four,  not  three,  branches  (Plate  I,  Fig.  4,  A). 
The  mucous  membrane  is  surrounded  by  a  longitudinal  muscular  layer, 
which,  in  turn,  is  enveloped  by  a  layer  of  very  stout  radiating  fibers, 
longer  inferiorly.     The  whole  is  inclosed  in  a  structureless  membrane. 

The  upper  extremity  of  the  intestine  into  which  the  oesophagus  o])ens  is 
very  wide.  It  is  continued  by  a  straight,  wide,  cylindrical  tube,  lined,  in 
its  entire  extent,  with  brownish,  distinctly  nucleated  cellules,  and  termi- 
nates in  a  short  oblique  rectum,  having  the  form  of  an  inverted  cone. 
The  anus  is  situated  at  the  base  of  the  very  short  tail  which  measures 
only  1.  to  .2"""  (.004 — .OOSinch)  in  length.  It  appears  to  open  most  com- 
monly on  the  dorsal  aspect,  that  aspect  which  is  opposite  to  the  incli- 
nation of  the  head  and  neck  or  to  the  vulva.  This  is  due  to  the  spiral 
twisting  of  the  female  body  when  the  uterus  is  laden  with  eggs.  The 
anus  of  the  male  opens  near  the  notching  of  the  caudal  bursa  posteriorly. 
This  shows  that  in  the  male  also  the  ventral  aspect  is  uppermost,  which 
in  the  female  is  indicated  by  the  vulva.  In  both  sexes  the  anus  is  very 
small;  and  in  fact  an  animal  food,  made  up  of  the  blood  of  the  host, 
ought  to  furnish  a  very  small  quantity  of  solid  waste. 

Nervous  system. — The  nervous  system  of  Syngamus  trachcalis,  like 
that  of  the  larger  number  of  the  higher  nematodes,  consists  of  a 
flattened  ganglion  forming  a  collar  about  the  oesophagus,  ami  giving  off 
fourquite  symmetrical  cords  anteriorly  and  four  jiosteriorly.    The  former 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         Ill 

pass  to  the  mouth  parts,  the  latter  to  the  digestive  and  reproductive 
organs. 

Secretory  apparatus. — The  most  eminent  helminthologists,  among  them 
Bastiau,  Schneider,  and  E.  Perrier,  have  seen  in  certain  nematodes 
secretory  structures  composed  of  utricles  sometimes  double,  provided 
with  a  canal  which  opens  on  the  skin  in  the  middle  of  a  i)apilla.  These 
structures  have  been  observed  near  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  body 
in  the  male,  and  in  the  region  of  the  neck  in  both  sexes.  We  have 
sought  them  without  success  in  the  Syngamus  of  the  pheasants.  Once, 
however,  we  saw,  quite  distinctly,  an  oblique  canal  opening  on  the  skin 
a  little  below  the  oesophageal  nervous  ring  and  arising  from  a  glandular 
mass  situated  in  the  region,  where,  in  Plate  I,  Fig.  5,  we  have  shown 
the  i)osition  of  the  longitudinal  fusiform  muscular  fibers.  Along  the 
cesoi)hagus  and  under  the  same  muscular  layers  there  is  situated  an 
elongated  club-shaped  gland,  which  opens  at  the  base  of  the  pharyngeal 
capsule  (Plate  I,  Fig.  5,  d).  This  is  a  true  salivary  gland ;  its  walls  are 
lined  with  ovoid,  doubly-nucleated  cells. 

Eeproductive  apparatus  :  Genital  organs  of  the  male.  (Plate  II,  Fig. 
7.) — In  the  nematodes  generally  the  testes  consist  of  a  long  tube  uni- 
forndy  cylindrical  in  its  whole  extent  from  .1  to  .2™""  (.004  —  .008  inch) 
in  diameter.  In  the  male  Syngamus  of  the  jiheasants  it  presented 
quite  characteristic  diflereuces  from  the  known  type.  It  is  i)ossib]e  to 
see,  through  the  translucent  tissues  of  the  body,  and  still  better  when 
the  testicle  has  been  forced  out  of  the  body  of  the  worm,  a  large,  abrupt 
expansion  of  the  tube  1™""  (.04  inch)  from  its  inferior  termination. 
This  bag-pipe-like  enlargement  gradually  contracts  anteriorly  and  con- 
tinues as  a  cylindrical  tube  slightly  narrower  than  at  its  commencement. 
At  the  middle  of  the  worm's  body  it  twines  about  the  intestine,  then  re- 
descends  and  terminates  in  a  cul-de-sac  near  the  posterior  extremity. 
The  disposition  of  this  seminiferous  tube  may  be  better  seen  when,  b}' 
a  fortunate  compression,,  or  a  patient  dissection,  it  has  been  forced  out 
of  the  body.  The  three  portions  of  which  it  is  composed  may  then  be 
readily  distinguished :  the  first  as  a  vas  deferens,  the  secoiul  as  a  vesi- 
cula  seminalis,  and  the  third  (which  coils  about  the  intestine)  as  the  tes- 
ticle proper.  The  latter  is  filled  with  an  opaque,  amorphous  substance, 
thecontents  of  the  vesicula seminalis  and  the  vas  deferens  being  likewise 
opaque  but  segmented  into  granular  corpuscles  of  very  varying  forms, 
having  each  a  nucleus  of  .01  to  .03'"™  (.0004  — .0012  inch)  in  diame- 
ter. These  are  the  spermatozoids.  The  vas  deferens,  about  .075""" 
(.003  inch)  in  diameter,  opens  at  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  body 
in  the  center  of  the  caudal  bursa,  between  two  very  small,  short,  and 
nearly  straight  spicules,  the  extremities  of  whicli  rest  immovably  in  the 
vagina  of  the  female.  Tlie  vesicula  seminalis,  enlarged  in  tlie  lorm  of 
a  i)ear,  has  its  walls  made  uj)  of  muscular  fibers  which  are  all  obliquely 
placed  and  inserted  into  a  longitudinal  raph6  like  the  barbs  of  a  feather 
into  the  shaft.     The  object  of  this  arrangement  undoubtedly  is  to  cause 


112         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OP    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  expulsiou  of  the  spermatozoids  aud  tbeir  projection  iuto  the  vagina 
of  the  female,  the  long  duration  of  this  function  requiring  a  special  aud 
powerful  apparatus. 

Female  genital  apparatus,  (Plate  11,  Fig.  G).— As  in  almost  all  nema- 
todes, the  female  generative  organs  comprise  a  uterus  with  two  long 
branches  narrowing  abruptl}^  into  a  tubular  iwrtion,  the  ovary  proper. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  discover  a  bag-pipe-like  swelling  near  the 
commencement  of  the  ovary  which  E,  Perrier  has  seen  in  the  Redruris 
armata,  and  which  he  calls  the  copulation  pouch  (vesicula  copulatrix). 
Neither  this  pouch  nor  anything  similar  to  it  exists  in  the  Syngamus. 

The  vulva,  as  has  been  stated,  is  a  small  opening  pierced  through  the 
summit  of  a  hemispherical  papilla  which  is  permanently  covered  by  the 
caudal  bursa  of  the  male.  The  vagina,  the  canal  which  penetrates  the 
papilla,  is  very  narrow.  Lodging  the  spicules  of  the  male  it  serves  as  a 
passage  for  the  spermatozoids  which  the  male  pours  into  it  during  his 
entire  adult  existence.  It  will  be  readily  understood  that  it  never  ful- 
fills the  function  of  oviduct,  since  the  inseparable  union  of  male  aud  fe- 
male renders  the  discharge  of  ova  through  the  vagina  impossible. 

The  vagina  is  continued  into  a  short,  enlarged  uterus,  about  .G'"'"  (.024 
inch)  long  and  broad,  which  divides  into  two  long  cylindrical  horns, 
having  a  diameter  of  .3°^'"  (.012  inch)  at  the  base  and  .25'""^  (.009  inch) 
at  the  apex.  They  are  about  three  times  as  long  as  the  intestine,  about 
which  they  coil  in  the  most  capricious  windings.  The  uterus  and  its 
horns  are  filled  with  ova,  the  development  of  which  proceeds  with  the 
age  of  the  worm,  as  we  shall  see  further  on.  Each  horn  at  its  apex 
contracts  abruptly  into  a  short  cone,  and  is  continued  by  a  small  tube 
about  .05"°^  (.002  inch)  in  diameter,  which  might  be  likened  to  a  Fal- 
lopian tube.  After  a  distance  of  3™""  (.118  inch)  these  tubes  gradually 
dilate  into  tubes  of  twice  their  diameter,  filled  with  spherical,  granular 
corpuscles,  compressed  and  crowded  together  in  one  or  two  rows.  These 
are  the  ovules,  the  tubes  containing  them,  the  ovaries.  As  long  as  the 
uterine  horns,  these  tubes  are  wound  in  a  thousand  different  ways  about 
the  intestine,  then  contract  each  into  a  tube  as  narrow  as  the  Fallopian 
tubes  (or  oviducts),  containing  only  amorphous  matter,  and  lastly  ter- 
minate in  a  cul-de-sac  devoid  of  dilatation  or  enlargement. 

Amongst  the  ova  filling  the  uterus  and  its  horns,  we  have  determined 
the  presence  of  spermatozoids  closely  resembling  those  contained  in  the 
vesicula  seminalis  aud  the  vas  deferens  of  the  male,  but  we  have  not 
succeeded  in  seeing  them  elsewhere.  We  believe  that  the  fecundation 
is  effected  in  the  uterine  horns  near  the  ovarian  extremity  upon  the 
ovules  brought  there  by  the  Fallopian  tubes,  since  there  is  here  no  or- 
gan similar  to  the  vesicula  coi)ulatrix,  which  E.  Perrier  has  pointed  out 
in  the  Hedruris  armata. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         113 
EMBRYOGENY    AND   DEVELOPMENT. 

It  lias  already  been  stated  that  the  uariow  terminal  extremity  of  the 
ovary  is  filled  with  a  finely  granular,  amorphous,  opaque,  and  homoge. 
neous  substance.  On  approaching-  the  coiled  portion  of  the  ovary  this 
granular  matter  is  seen  to  unite  into  spherules,  which  are  the  ovules 
proper.  They  are  ranged  in  a  siugle  row  ow  ing  to  the  narrow  tube,  the 
internal  diameter  of  which  they  almost  fidi  up.  In  the  wider  portion  of 
the  ovary  they  range  themselves  in  two  or  three  rows.  Near  the  ovi- 
duct (Fallopian  tube)  they  first  become  slightly  ovoid,  with  a  long  di- 
ameter of  .08""°' (.003  inch),  and  they  possess  a  distinct  germinal  spot 
and  vesicle.  Still  without  shell  or  distinct  enveloi)e,  they  are  led,  one 
by  one,  through  the  oviduct  into  the  corresponding  uterine  horn,  where 
they  find  themselves  in  contact  with  the  spermatozoids,  and  where  they 
become  inclosed  in  a  shell.  When  this  is  completed,  and  the  egg  con- 
sequently perfect,  it  presents  the  form  of  an  ellipsoid,  with  a  long  di- 
ameter of  .09"'"' (.0035  inch)  and  a  short  one  of  .05"""  (.002  inch).  The 
egg  is  not  truncated  nor  provided  with  a  neck  at  each  extremity,  as  is 
the  case  with  many  nematodes.  There  is,  on  the  contrary,  at  each  pole 
a  thickening,  hemispherical  externally  and  almost  flat  within  (Plate  II, 
Fig.  S,  A,  B,  C).  Tnis  is  an  actual  cover,  detaching  itself  completely 
when  the  embryo  emerges.  Only  the  empty  ovum,  therefore,  is  really 
truncated  at  its  two  extremities. 

In  the  uterine  horns  the  ova  undergo  complete  segmentation.  Their 
vitellus  divides  into  2,  4,  8,  16,  &c.,  small  spheres,  which  assume  the 
mulberry  form  (Plate  II,  Fig.  8,  A).  The  development  proceeds  in  the 
lateral  regions  of  the  egg  (Plate  II,  Fig.  8,  B),  and  at  its  close  the 
embryo  may  be  seen  rolled  up  in  the  foi  m  of  a  circle  or  a  figure  of  eight. 
The  egg  is  now  .1"""  (.004  inch)  long  and  .06'"'"  (.0024  inch)  broad. 

But  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  the  developmental  phases  of  the 
ovum  can  be  followed  out  in  every  syngame.  Only  in  case  of  the 
largest  specimens  can  this  be  done  by  examining  successively  the  genital 
organs  of  the  female,  from  the  extriMuity  of  the  ovaries  to  the  body  of 
the  uterus  after  they  have  been  taken  from  the  body  and  well  spread 
out.  It  is  also  possible  to  trace  the  series  of  successive  transformations 
which  the  ovule  undergoes  from  the  embryonic  to  the  perfect  state  by 
examining  a  series  of  females  from  the  moment  of  their  sexual  union 
with  the  male  to  that  of  their  greatest  development.  Thus  in  the  syn- 
games  recently  conjugated,  at  a  time  when  the  female  is  scarcely  5™"^ 
(.2  inch)  long,  only  spheroidal  ovules  are  found  in  the  uterus  and  its 
appendages,  which  are  verj*  short,  but  slightly  developed,  and  not  dis- 
tinct from  the  ovaries,  their  diameters  being  the  same.  When  the 
femah'  has  reached  a  length  of  1'""'  (.4  inch),  the  uterus  and  its  horns, 
now  (juite  distinct,  contain  eggs  fully  formed  and  inclosed  in  a  shell , 
but  the  vitellus  is  not  yet  segmented.  When  the  body  is  15"'"'  (.51) 
inch)  long  the  vitellus  is  already  segmented,  and  has  even  passed 
5751  D  A 8 


114         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

beyoud  the  morula  stage,  as  many  of  the  eggs,  particularly  in  the  body 
of  the  uterus,  reveal  the  embryo  iu  process  of  development.  Finally, 
when  a  length  of  20  to  22'"'"  (.787-.8G6  inch)  has  been  reached,  eggs 
containing  fully  formed  embryos,  rolled  up  and  moving  within  their 
narrow  prison,  are  observed  in  the  two  divisions  of  the  uterus.  At  this 
])eriod  they  may  be  forced  out  of  the  shell  by  pressure  between  two 
glass  slides  ;  the  covers  at  the  extremities  detach  themselves  completely  i 
and  the  embryo  emerges  through  either  opening.  When  it  leaves  the 
egg  spontaneously,  an  act  we  have  frequently'  observed  in  the  water, 
the  cephalic  extremity  always  emerges  first. 

The  embrj'O,  on  leaving  the  egg,  exactly  resembles  an  agamous  an-  ^ 
guillula  (Plate  II,  Fig.  8,  D).  It  is  about  .28"""  (.011  inch)  long,  and  \ 
has  a  diameter  of  .013"""  (.0005  inch)  at  the  middle  of  the  body.  The 
obtuse  anterior  extremity  reveals  a  punctiform  mouth,  opening  in  the 
middle  of  a  papilla  and  continued  into  an  oesophagus  which  occupies 
the  cephalic  third  of  the  body  (Plate  II,  Fig.  9),  and  whose  cavity  is 
distinguished  as  a  very  fine  median  line.  This  portion  of  the  body  is 
clear  ;  the  remaining  two-thirds  is  filled  with  granulations  or  fine  glob- 
ules.    The  tail  is  conical  and  elongated. 

The  embryos  never  leave  the  egg  within  the  living  body  of  the  mother, 
however  complete  the  development  of  both  may  be.  Only  by  the  death  of 
the  female  and  the  destruction  of  its  body  are  the  ova  placed  at  liberty. 
The  embryo  will  then  emerge  if  the  medium  offers  favorable  conditions. 
These  are  moisture  and  a  temperature  of  at  least  20^  C.  (68°  F.).  These 
facts  we  have  frequently  demonstrated  by  experiment  and  in  other 
ways.  We  have  even  found  still  attached  to  the  trachea  of  pheasants  i 
destroyed  by  the  gapes  couples  of  dead  syngames,  with  the  soft,  flaccid 
body  of  the  female,  24'"'"  (.945  inch)  long,  opened  in  several  places  hy 
the  commencing  process  of  maceration,  through  which  a  large  number 
of  eggs  had  already  escaped.  It  still  contained  manj-  of  them,  each 
inclosing  a  fully  developed,  very  active  embryo,  but  there  was  not  a 
single  empty  egg  or  free  embryo  in  the  entire  cadaver. 

We  have  subjected  the  eggs  to  various  conditions  in  order  to  deter- 
mine those  most  favorable  to  the  hatching  of  the  young.  1.  When  in 
a  dry  medium,  as  in  sand,  their  contents  dry  up  more  rapidly  in  propor- 
tion to  the  elevation  of  temperature.  2.  In  a  moist  state  they  preserve 
their  vitality  for  months,  even  for  a  year,  without  any  perceptible  modifi- 
cation of  their  contents,  if  the  temperature  is  kept  below  15°  C.  (59°  F.). 
Under  these  conditions  the  contents  finally  undergo  fatty  degeneration 
and  are  dissolved.  3.  If,  while  in  a  humid  state,  the  temperature  be 
raised  to  20°  C.  (08°  F.)  or  better,  to  25°  C.  (77°  F.),  the  embryo  within 
the  egg  moves  and  turns  about  and  finally  escapes  by  pushing  away 
one  of  the  coverlets. 

The  combined  conditions  of  moisture  and  warmth  are  jmwerful  enough 
to  bring  about  the  development  of  the  embryo  and  its  escape  from  the 
egg,  in  which  at  first  no  trace  of  it  can  be  distinguished,  and  which  con- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         115 

tains  ouly  the  vitellns,  lu  the  water  coutaiued  in  crystallizing  disbe.s, 
small  enough  to  be  i^laced  on  the  stage  of  a  microscope,  we  have  studied 
day  by  day  the  formation  of  the  embryo  during  the  month  of  July  of 
this  year,  when  the  temi)erature  maintained  an  averageof  25oO.  (77°  F.). 
We  have  determined  that  in  presence  of  these  conditions  twenty-eight 
to  thirty  days  s-uffice  for  the  development  of  the  embryo  and  its  escape 
from  the  shell. 

The  embryos  or  larv;^  live  in  the  water,  where  they  swim  about  in  a 
serpentine  manner  like  the  anguilluhe  (vinegar  eels,  «S:c.).  At  a  tem- 
perature of  20°  or  25°  C.  (6S°-77°  F.)  we  have  been  unable  to  keep  them 
alive  for  more  than  eight  or  ten  days,  whilst  at  a  lower  temperature 
they  lived  for  many  months,  almost  a  year.  During  this  time  they 
molt,  the  tail  becoming  less  elongated,  and  assuming  the  form  of  a 
short  cone  (Plate  II,  Fig.  10).  When  the  hatching  has  been  delayed 
from  insufficient  warmth,  and  the  embryo  finally  escapes  from  the  egg, 
it  leaves  within  the  shell  an  envelope.  This  fact  seems  to  prove  that 
the  molt,  which  takes  place  normally  one  or  two  days  after  birth,  occurs 
in  the  egg  itself  when  birth  is  retarded.  In  the  experiment-glasses  larvae 
with  short  tails  were  often  seen  moving  among  those  with  long  tails. 
The  former  were  simply  older  than  the  latter. 

The  following  questions  now  arise:  Does  the  larva  molt  a  second 
time  before  assuming  the  adult  form,  and  what  are  the  ways  and  means 
employed  by  it  to  reach  the  only  place  where  adult  and  paired  syn 
games  are  found — the  trachea  of  birds? 

Some  species  of  Sclerostomata  presents  a  nymphal  phase,  during 
which  the  young  parasite  is  provided  with  an  almost  complete  buccal 
armature,  and  lives,  rolled  up  and  encysted  beneath  the  mucous  mem- 
brane to  which  it  attaches  itself  in  its  adult  state.  Repeated  investi- 
gations have  failed  to  reveal  anything  analogous  in  the  syngame  of  the 
pheasants.  We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  nymphal  stage, 
no  doubt  very  short  and  active,  is  passed  in  the  air-sacs  and  pulmonary 
broiu;hi,  which,  as  is  well  known,  intercommunicate  very  largely  in 
birds,  and  which  the  larv;e  may  readily  reach  by  traversing  the  intes- 
tinal or  oesophageal  tunics  after  escaping  from  the  ingested  eggs.  We 
also  believe  that  the  parasites  very  soon  after  reach  the  trachea,  to  be- 
come adult,  pair,  and  attach  themselves.  The  following  are  the  facts 
upon  which  this  opinion  is  based  : 

1.  The  larva'  of  Syngamus,  according  to  our  observations,  do  not 
develop  well,  nor  will  they  leave  the  egg  and  become  vigorous  except- 
ing in  a  moist  and  warm  medium,  approaching  the  conditions  ottered 
by  the  interior  of  a  bird's  body. 

2.  In  a  young  i)heasant,  dead  from  the  gapes,  we  found  in  the  mucus 
obtained  by  scrai»ing  the  lining  membrane  of  the  (esophagus,  a  large 
number  of  eggs  of  syngames  with  the  shell  opened  and  abandoned  by 
the  embryo.     We  have  preparations  to  demonstrate  this  fact. 

■J.  In  the  serous  ttuids  which  lubricate  the  walls  of  the  air-sacs,  nu)re 


116         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

particularly  those  iu  relation  with  the  dnodeuuiu,  we  have  found  in  the 
case  of  young  pheasants  attacked  with  the  gapes  very  active  larva.', 
almost  twice  as  large  as  those  just  emerging  from  the  egg,  seeking 
their  way. 

4.  In  the  cellular  peritracheal  tissue,  iu  the  neighborhood  of  the  crop 
of  one  of  the  young  pheasants  referred  to  above,  we  found,  stretched 
out  parallel  to  the  trachea,  a  young  female  syngame,  already  colored 
red,  o"""'  (.2  inch)  long,  with  the  mouth  formed  like  that  of  the  adult. 
and  even  sexually  matured.  We  think  that  it  was  a  syngame  which, 
having  been  delayed  in  the  migration,  failed  to  reach  the  mucosa  of  the 
trachea  in  due  time  and  now  could  no  longer  do  so,  because  the  adult 
structure  of  the  mouth  parts  presented  an  impediment  to  its  march 
across  the  tissues. 

5.  In  the  inclosures  of  M.  de  Janze,  at  Gournay  (Eure),  which  were 
desolated  last  year  by  the  gapes,  and  which  have  presented  this  year 
some  cases  of  this  disease,  the  following  fact  has  often  been  observed 
and  verified  by  ^r.  de  Janze  himself:  The  young  pheasants  affec.-ted 
with  this  malady  frequently  expel,  in  a  fit  of  coughing,  plump,  fat  syn- 
games  full  of  eggs.  The  other  fowls  near  by  consume  with  avidity  the 
worms  thus  ejected,  which  they,  no  doubt,  regard  a.s  earth-worms,  or 
the  red  larvae  of  the  large  tipulte  which  resemble  them,  and  of  which 
they  ^re  very  fond.  Two  or  three  weeks  later  these  young  pheasants 
are  sure  to  present  symptoms  of  the  malady — the  slight,  aborted  hiss- 
ing cough,  which  is  so  characteristic,  and  the  gaping,  which  has  gained 
for  this  disease  its  English  name. 

6.  For  the  purpose  of  verifying  experimentally  the  ficcuracy  of  the 
facts  related  above,  the  authenticity  of  which,  however,  did  not  give 
rise  to  any  doubt,  we  fed  to  a  female  parrot,  on  the  7th  of  August,  four 

pairs  of  large  syngames.     We  had  just  received  from  Mme.  de  la  E 

de  Montmirail  some  young  pheasants,  dead  from  the  gapes,  from  which 
we  obtained  an  ample  number  of  syngames ;  the  parrot  being  the  only 
subject  we  had  for  exi>eriment  at  the  time.  On  August  28  this  bird 
began  to  cough  and  to  gape.  On  September  10  it  died,  suffocated  by 
numerous  syngames  which  we  found,  at  the  autopsy,  crowded  in  the 
trachea. 

Considering  the  large  number  of  eggs — several  thousand — which  a 
cadaver  of  the  female  syngame  contains,  and  the  relatively  small  num- 
ber of  parasites — about  thirty  or  more  pairs — which  reach  their  destina- 
tion, or,  in  other  words,  come  to  maturity,  we  may  form  an  estimate  of 
the  prodigious  number  of  larva^  which  die  on  their  way  or  never  suc- 
ceed in  finding  it.  It  is,  moreover,  a  law  of  nature,  especially  true  of 
parasites,  that  the  number  of  eggs  laid  is  larger  in  projiortion  as  the 
chances  of  destruction  during  the  earlier  period  of  existence  are  more 
numerous. 

The  great  variation  in  the  size,  and  hence  in  the  age  and  the  degree 
of  development,  noted  among  the  syngames  attached  to  the  trachea  of 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         117 

a  bird  showis  that  there  are  ordiuarily  several  successive  infections  or 
ingestions  of  eggs  at  intervals  more  or  less  extensive.  This  fact  may 
also  be  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  conditions  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  parasite  have  not  been  the  same  for  all. 

The  feeding  of  healthy  pheasants  upon  syngames  filled  with  eggs, 
which  have  been  ejected  by  pheasants  suffering  from  the  gapes,  is  not  the 
only  means  by  which  this  disease  may  be  propagated.  The  observa- 
tions which  we  have  made  concerning  the  vitality  retained  by  the  eggs 
of  the  parasite  when  in  a  moist  medium — a  medium  in  which  the  em- 
bryos are  born  and  developed  if  the  temperature  reaches  a  suitable 
height  (200-25°  C.) — prove  that  the  ingestion  of  water  and  liquid  or 
pasty  aliments,  containing  these  embryos  or  eggs,  furnishes  two  other 
means  of  infection  i)erhaps  more  active  than  the  first.  In  every  case 
the  only  media  necessary  for  the  propagation  of  epidemics  of  the  gapes 
are  food  and  drink  contaminated  with  the  eggs  or  embryos,  and  the 
birds  themselves  when  affected  with  the  disease,  as  they  are  then  the 
Source  of  an  abundant  emission  of  eggs  of  the  parasite.  No  other  ani- 
mated medium,  neither  adult  insect  nor  larva  (the  larv£e  of  ants,  for 
example,  which  are  a  constant  element  of  food  for  young  pheasants,  and 
which  have  been  suspected  with  some  appearance  of  truth),  nor  any 
mollusk,  in  short,  can  be  incriminated. 

MEANS  OF  DESTROYING  THE  SYNGAME  AND  OF  ARRESTING  EPIDEMICS 

OF  THE  GAPES. 

The  disasters  caused  by  the  jiarasite  above  described  in  the  parks 
devoted  to  the  rearing  of  pheasants,  point  out  the  extreme  importance 
of  finding  rapid  and  effective  means  of  arresting  the  spread  of  this  de- 
structive worm. 

A  remedy,  common  in  England,  consists  in  mixing  the  grains  which 
are  to  be  fed  to  the  diseased  birds  with  urine  instead  of  water.  Mon- 
tagu, who  tried  this  remedy  without  having  any  faith  in  its  efficacy,  was 
surprised  at  the  success  which  he  achieved,  and  which  proved  to  him 
that  it  was  not  without  utility.  It  is  probable  that  the  ammoniacal 
emanations  arising  from  the  urine  are  poisonous  to  the  red  worm  or  its 
embryos. 

^^'i('senthal  relates  that  in  America  a  hen's  feather  is  stripped  of  its 
barbs  to  near  the  point,  introduced  into  the  trachea  and  rotated  like  a 
brush  to  detach  the  worms.  We  strongly  question  the  efficiency  of 
this  practice;  in  the  first  i)lace,  because  we  know  from  experience  that 
the  worms  are  too  firmly  attached  to  be  removed  by  the  friction  of  the 
barbs  of  a  feather.  Should  they  be  detaclied,  however,  thej'^  would  only 
be  pushed  to  the  root  of  the  trachea,  where,  forming  a  ball,  they  would 
augment  the  obstruction  in  the  tube  and  thus  bring  about  more  promptly 
the  death  of  the  bird.  On  the  other  hand,  the  diameter  of  the  trachea 
of  a  young  i)heasant  from  five  to  six  weeks  old,  being  scarcely  equal  to 
that  of  the  shaft  of  a  hen's  feather,  will  not  permit  the  introduction  of 


118  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  latter.  Cobbold,*  on  the  contrary,  believes  in  the  efficiency  of  this 
method,  and  adds  that  this  efficiency  may  be  increased  by  impregnating 
the  feather  with  a  germicide  snbstance.  Bartlett,  who  nsed  salt  for  this 
end,  or  a  weak  infusion  of  tobacco,  informed  him  that  the  essence  of 
turpentine  also  had  given  excellent  results.  Cobbold  adds  with  reason, 
that  unless  great  care  be  exercised  with  this  method  the  birds  may  be 
seriously  injured.f 

These  means,  at  once  mechanical  and  medicinal,  have  been  suggested 
several  times  and  varied  in  different  ways.  One  of  our  correspondents 
Informed  us  that  he  had  cured  pheasants  of  the  red  worm  by  removing 
the  parasites  with  a  small  rod  and  pouring  into  the  mouth  of  the  birds 
a  few  drops  of  Fowler's  solution.  Another  pretends  to  have  removed 
the  parasites  with  a  piece  of  copper  wire,  which  had  one  end  curved 
like  a  handle  and  dipped  into  oleum  hypericum  (red  oil).  We  do  not 
doubt  that  they  could  have  succeeded  in  thus  removing  red  worms 
lodged  in  the  pharynx,  but  we  do  not  believe  that  they  could  have  ex- 
tracted worms  by  this  method  from  the  root  of  the  trachea  near  the  bi- 
furcation of  the  bronchi,  where  they  are  most  frequently  lodged ;  for  It 
is  actually  impossible  to  employ  a  rod,  and  above  all,  a  metallic  wire 
curved  into  a  hook,  as  it  would  undoubtedly  tear  the  trachea.  The  fact 
that  young  pheasants,  and  more  frequently  adults,  sometimes  recover 
spontaneously  from  the  gapes,  may  have  given  rise  to  their  apparent 
success.  This  happens  when  they  are  affected  hy  only  a  small  number 
of  parasites,  which  may  go  through  the  phases  of  their  development 
to  their  death  without  producing  suffocation.  This  is  the  only  mode  of 
fatal  terminatioQ,  and  it  requires  a  certain  number  of  j^arasites,  from 
twenty  to  thirty  couples  for  adult,  and  from  five  to  ten  for  young  i)heas- 
auts.  In  these  cases  the  disease  is  cured  in  spite  of,  and  not  because 
of,  a  certain  mode  of  treatment. 

One  of  the  most  rational  methods  of  treatment  has  been  pointed  out 
by  Montagu,  who  did  not  stop  with  the  common  method  ^ibove  men- 
tioned, but  who  obtained  much  success  with  the  following  means  com- 
bined :  Removal  from  the  infected  places,  complete  replacement  of  the 


*  Parasites:  London,  1879;  p.  44.5. 

t  Cobbold's  exact  words  conceruiu"'  this  method  are  as  follows  {}nc  cii): 

"First.  The  simplest  plan  consists,  as  Dr.  Wieseuthal  lonj;-  ago  pointed  out.  in 
stripping  a  feather  from  the  tube  to  near  tlie  narrow  end  of  the  shaft,  leaving  only  a 
few  uninjured  webs  at  the  tip.  The  bird  being  secured,  the  webbed  extremity  of  the 
f(<athcr  is  introduced  into  the  windpipe.  It  is  then  twisted  round  a  few  times  and 
withdrawn,  when  the  worms  are  found  attached.  In  some  instances  this  |)lan  suc- 
ceeds entirely. 

"  Secondly.  The  above  inethod  is  rendered  more  effectual  when  the  feather  is  previ- 
ously steeped  iu  some  medicated  solution  which  will  destroy  the  worms.  Mr.  Bart- 
lett employs  salt  for  this  purpose,  or  a  weak  infusion  of  tobacco;  and  he  informs  me 
that  the  simple  application  of  turpentine  externally  is  suiHcient  to  kill  the  worms. 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  bird  itself  may  be  injuriously  affected  by  these 
drugs  if  they  are  carelessly  employed."  Note  that  the  turpentine  is  to  be  used  ex- 
ternally.— Ed. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         119 

former  aliments  by  uew  ones,  in  wbich  hemp-seed  and  fresh  grass  figure 
prominentl}^ ;  finally,  for  drink,  an  infusion  of  rue  (ruta)  and  garlic,  in- 
stead of  ordinary  water. 

The  efficacy  of  the  garlic  was  demoustrated  to  us  under  the  following- 
circumstances  :  The  pheasantry  in  the  forest  of  Fontainebleau  was  laid 
waste  by  the  gapes  in  1877  and  1878.  This  malady,  which  we  studied 
on  the  site  of  its  activity,  was  arrested  and  completely  driven  out  l)y 
feeding  the  pheasants  with  a  mixture  consisting  of  hard-boiled  eggs, 
boiled  beef's  heart,  the  crumbs  of  stale  bread,  and  salad.  These  ingredi- 
ents were  chopped,  pounded,  and  thoroughly  mixed  so  as  to  make  a  paste. 
To  this  paste  was  added  pounded  garlic  in  the  proportion  of  one  clove  or 
bulb  to  ten  pheasants  each  day,  the  garlic  being  thoroughly' distributed 
through  the  paste.  This  mixture  was  relished  very  much.  Great  care 
was  bestowed  upon  the  drinking  vessels  ;  the  very  pure  water  used  was 
renewed  twice  a  day.  The  same  treatment  was  successful  in  the  sev- 
eral inclosures  belonging  to  the  country-seats  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Fontainebleau  and  Melun.  A  large  number  of  correspondents  to  whom 
we  suggested  it  were  fully  satisfied  in  having  applied  it.  We  also 
learned  that  the  pheasants  occasionally  refused  the  garlic,  and  one  of 
our  correspondents  informed  us  that  he  had  succeeded  in  making  them 
take  it  by  preparing  a  real  garlic  salad;  for  he  had  accidentally  ob- 
served how  the  animals  which  had  refused  the  garlic  paste  cast  them- 
selves voraciously  upon  a  garlic  salad  which  was  not  intended  for  them. 

We  can  readily  ex])lain  tlie  virtue  of  garlic,  known  from  time  imme- 
morial as  an  excellent  anthelmintic,  as  it  is  volatile  and  is  eliminated  by 
the  respiratory  passages,  reaching,  in  this  way,  the  trachea,  where  the 
syngames  are  lodged.  The  proof  that  the  essential  and  volatile  prin- 
ciples of  garlic  are  eliminated  by  the  lungs  is  daily  furnished  by  those 
persons  who,  like  the  inhabitants  of  the  south  of  France,  are  fond  of 
this  condiment.     The  odor  of  their  breath  betrays  them  immediately. 

Besides  garlic,  we  have  experimented  with  another  substance,  which, 
like  the  former,  has  the  advantage  of  being  a  strong-smelling  vermifuge 
and  more  stupefying  than  ether  (which  might  also  be  employed),  prop- 
erties which  enhance  its  parasiticide  powers.  We  refer  to  assafoetida^ 
which  we  have  used  as  a  powder  with  an  equal  part  of  yellow  pulver- 
ized gentian,  mixed  with  the  i)aste  which  is  fed  to  the  pheasants,  in  tlie 
proportion  of  .">()  centigrams  (about  7i  grains)  per  head  each  day.  As 
a  complement  to  this  treatment  we  have  added  to  each  liter  (or 
quart)  of  drinking  water  the  following  solution :  Salicylic  acid,  1  gram 
(about  b">i  grains) ;  distilled  water,  100  grams  (about  3.V  fluid  ounces). 

The  use  of  the  salicylic  acid,  the  toxic  power  of  which  upon  tlie  em- 
bryos of  syngames  we  have  recognized  experimentally,  had  for  its  sole 
object  the  destruction  of  those  embryos  which  might  be  present  in  the 
drinking  water  of  the  young  i)heasants. 

This  treatment  we  have  employed  in  the  parks  of  Haron  Rothschild, 
at  Rarabouillet,  which  were  ravaged  by  the  gapes  in  a  iiiaiuier  so  <lis- 


120  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTIC  A.TED    ANIMALS. 

astrous  that  up  to  1,200  young  pheasants  were  found  dead  each  morn- 
ing. A  letter  from  the  baron's  steward,  dated  September  7, 1879,  testi- 
fies that  the  treatment  has  fully  succeeded  in  arresting,  in  a  few  days 
even,  the  epidemic. 

We  will  conclude  these  suggestions  by  stating  that  it  is  alway  bene- 
ficial and  even  indispensable  to  disinfect  the  soil  of  the  inclosures  after 
having  transferred  the  young  pheasants  to  a  virgin  soil.  One  of  the 
best  means  of  destroying  the  eggs  and  embryos  which  may  possibly  ex- 
ist on  the  soil  of  the  contaminated  inclosures,  consists  in  sprinking  it 
with  water  containing  in  solution  a  sufficiently  large  quantity  of  salicyl  ic 
or  sulphuric  acid,  one  gram  (15^  grains)  to  a  liter  (about  1  quart)  for 
example. 

Great  care  should  also  be  taken  to  isolate  the  sick  birds  on  the  first 
appearance  of  the  symptoms  of  the  disease,  and  to  keep  them  closely 
confined  till  complete  and  well-confirmed  recovery.  The  cadavers  of 
de*ad  birds  must  be  buried  deep,  or  it  were  even  better  to  burn  them. 

SUPPLEMENT. 

In  the  investigations  which  we  have  made  concerning  the  develop- 
ment of  JSyngamus  tracheaUs,  and  which  are  reported  in  the  preceding- 
memoir,  written  about  twenty  months  ago,  we  pointed  out  that  the  eggs 
ejected  during  the  coughing  fits  hatch  in  the  water,  and  that  the  em- 
bryo, resembling  an  anguillula,  may  live  in  this  medium  for  many  months, 
because  we  have  kept  some  alive  almost  a  year  in  a  low  temperature. 
The  birds  are  infected  by  drinking  the  water  containing  these  embryos. 
But  how  are  they  developed  in  the  body  of  birds,  and  in  what  way  do 
they  reach  the  trachea,  where  they  are  found,  in  the  adult  state,  fixed 
to  the  mucous  membrane  like  leeches,  the  two  sexes  united  in  a  perma- 
nent manner  and  the  females  crowded  with  eggs  I 

In  the  i)receding  memoir  we  stated  that  we  had  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  nymphal  phase,  unknown  to  us,  was  passed  in  the  air-sacs 
and  bronchi,  and  that  later  on  the  worm  reached  the  trachea  where  it 
became  adult.  We  offered  as  a  proof  of  this  hypothesis  the  discovery 
of  embryos  of  syngames,  in  every  respect  similar  to  those  which  we  had 
obtained  from  the  hatching  of  ova,  in  the  air-sacs  of  several  young 
pheasants  killed  by  the  gapes. 

There  was,  therefore,  only  a  presumption,  well  founded,  it  is  true,  of 
the  existence  of  the  nymphs  in  the  bronchi  of  the  pheasants.  At  pres- 
ent it  is  no  longer  a  presumption  but  a  certainty.  At  the  autopsies, 
lately  made,  of  two  red  partridges,  killed  by  syngames,  we  met  the 
nymphal  form  in  the  pulmonary  tissue  itself,  rolled  up  in  the  bronchial 
dilatations.  (Plate  II,  Fig.  11.)  It  is  cylindrical,  very  elongated,  about 
1.0  to  2">"'.  (.063  to  .079  inch)  long,  and  .04  ■"'".  (.0010  inch)  in  diameter. 
It  is,  consequently,  ten  times  as  large  as  the  embryo  when  it  leaves  the 
egg,  and  one-tenth  as  large  as  the  adult  worm  at  the  period  of  its  great- 
est development.     The  armature  of  the  mouth  is  already  cupulate  or 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         121 

cup-sliaped,  but  still  without  color,  border,  and  lobes.  The  muscular 
oesophagus  is  very  long  and  cylindrical.  The  intestine,  which  extends 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  termination  of  the  uisophagus  to  the  anus, 
fills  almost  the  entire  body,  and  is  already  colored  red ;  near  the  an- 
terior third  of  the  body  may  be  seen  a  fleshy  thickening,  which  sends 
a  prolongation  forward  beyond  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  oesopha- 
gus, and  one,  longer  than  the  first,  backward  toward  the  caudal  ex- 
tremity.    This  is  the  rudiment  of  the  sexual  organ. 

This  discovery  of  the  nymph  enables  us  to  say  that  all  the  develop- 
mental phases  of  Syngamns  tracheaUs  are  now  known.  The  only  two 
media  which  this  i)arasite  inhabits  during  its  entire  existence  are  the 
water  or  moist  earth  during  its  embryonal  condition,  and  the  respira- 
tory organs  of  its  victim  during  its  nymphal  and  its  adult  phase.  It  is, 
therefore,  developed  without  the  aid  of  any  other  medium  than  the 
water,  corresponding  in  this  respect  to  the  immense  majority  of  vermin- 
ous parasites. 


INTERNATIONAL  VETERINARY  CONGRESS. 


UEPORT  OF  DR.  JAMES  LAW. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  on  the  Inter- 
national Veterinary  Congress  at  Brussels  and  the  European  Veterinary 
Schools : 

In  accordance  with  the  call  issued  by  the  committee  of  arrangement, 
the  Fourth  International  Veterinary  Congress  met  at  Brussels  on  Sep- 
tember 10,  1883.  There  were  present  311  veterinarians,  of  whom  218 
were  Belgians,  and  93  from  other  countries  of  Europe  and  America. 
The  congress  remained  in  session  seven  days,  and  engaged  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  following  subjects : 

1.  The  organization  of  veterinary  service. 

2.  Contagious  pleuropneumonia  of  cattle. 

3.  Education  in  veterinary  medicine. 

1.  The  right  of  the  veterinarian  to  furnish  medicines. 
5.  Pulmonary  phthisis. 

1.  THE  ORGAJ^IZATION  OF  VETERINARY  SERVICE. 

This  subject  was  ably  presented  b;^  Zundel,  of  Strassburg,  the  reporter 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  introduce  it. 

The  veterinary  profession  can  no  longer  be  estimated  only  or  mainly 
by  its  knowledge  of  therapeutics  and  its  success  in  curing  disease,  other- 
wise it  would  be  to  the  pecuniary  interest  of  the  veterinarian  to  keep 
the  community  in  ignorance  of  the  causes  of  diseases,  epizootic,  and 
sporadic,  while  he  fattened  on  the  proceeeds  of  an  extended  practice. 
But  to-day  it  is  the  glory  of  the  veterinary  profession  that  it  is  pre-emi- 
nently a  sanitary  and  preventive  body.  It  can  point  to  day  to  the  com- 
parative absence  from  European  flocks  and  herds  of  those  plagues  which, 
but  a  century  ago  desolated  the  countries  at  frequent  intervals;  it  can 
show  pastures  now^salubrious,  which  were  formerly  pregnant  with  the, 
seeds  of  death ;  it  can  offer  immunity  to  the  system  from  poisons  whose 
touch  was  heretofore  deadly ;  and  it  can  show  how  to  extinguish  in 
animal  hosts  the  causes  of  disease,  which,  when  conveyed  to  man,  would 
entail  extended  suttering  and  death. 

By  his  knowledge  of  zootechny,  the  veterinarian  contributes  to  the] 
improvement  of  the  different  races  of  domestic  animals:  by  liisknowl-j 

VZ'i 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         123 

edge  of  sanitary  police  he  protects  the  i)iirchaser  of  animals  against  im- 
position, and  knowing  how  to  exclude  epizootics  he  protects  interna- 
tional commerce,  which  the  constantly  increasing  facilities  for  commu- 
nication render  dail^'  more  important ;  by  his  special  knowledge  of  ani- 
mal diseases  he  can  insure  that  maladies  intercommunicable  between 
animals  and  man  shall  not  be  conveyed  to  the  latter  through  meat  and 
other  animal  products. 

The  question  of  the  organization  of  the  veterinary  service  as  a  sani- 
tary branch  of  every  government  had  been  extensively  discussed  at  the 
Third  International  Veterinary  Congress  at  Zurich  in  1867,  and  at  the 
following  national  veterinary  conventions:  For  Germany,  at  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main,  in  1872;  for  France,  at  Paris,  in  1878;  for  Italy,  in  Bo- 
longe,  in  1878 ;  and  for  Belgium,  at  Brussels,  in  1880. 

The  Zurich  Congress  pronounced  that : 

1.  The  practice  of  veterinary  medicine  should  be  regulated  by  law. 

2.  The  veterinary  art  ought  to  be  an  integral  branch,  but  independ- 
ent, of  the  sanitary  administration. 

3.  Veterinary  medicine  should  be  represented  by  competent  persons 
closely  related  to  the  authorities;  inferior,  medium,  and  superior. 

4.  No  one  should  be  allowed  to  practice  veterinary  medicine  unless 
he  has  pursued  the  required  studies  in  a  public  veterinary  college,  and 
has  acijuired  after  examination  the  diploma  or  the  legal  character  of 
veterinarian. 

5.  All  veterinarians  may  be  called  as  experts  by  private  individuals, 
but  the  judicial  authorities  ought  only  to  call  as  competent  persons  vet- 
erinarians who  are  officially  recognized. 

6.  In  cases  of  sanitary  police  the  administrative  authorities  ought 
not  to  have  recourse,  save  exceptionally,  to  those  who  have  not  been 
officially  recognized  as  competent. 

7.  The  expression  "  competent  person  "  should  be  understood  in  the 
sense  that  he  is  a  diplomaed  veterinarian. 

8.  All  veterinarians  ought  to  have  the  right  to  furnish  the  medicines 
required  in  their  practice,  but  always  under  a  suitable  control. 

The  four  national  conventions  pronounced  in  similar  terms  for  a  guar- 
autee  of  education  and  competency  on  the  part  of  the  veterinarian,  and 
for  the  organization  of  a  sanitary  veterinary  service  in  each  state,  which 
should  deal  with  ei)izootics,  advise  how  to  render  districts  salubrious? 
and  how  to  improve  the  races  of  domestic  animals,  and  inspect  abat- 
toirs, slaughter-houses,  and  rendering  works.  The  German  convention 
pronounced  in  favor  of  a  unification  of  the  laws  of  the  different  Germgiu 
states  in  regard  to  veterinar^^  sanitary  police,  and  veterinary  Jurispru- 
dence, and  for  the  frequent  publication  of  statistics  of  contagious  dis- 
eases and  mortality.  The  French  convention  pronounced  in  favor  of 
including  in  the  sanitary  corps  all  the  veterinarians  practising  in  a  de- 
partment,  and  for  the  election  of  a  departmental  veterinary  director  by 
their  votes. 


124  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS 

111  tbe  spirit  of  these  autecedeut  conventions  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  submitted : 

1.  To  organize  in  every  country  a  veterinary  sanitary  service  charged  exclusively 
with  all  that  pertains  to  veterinary  science,  and  the  tuenibers  of  which  shall  be  coun- 
sel of  every  department  of  the  Government,  but  which  shall  be  more  especially  repre- 
sented directly  in  relation  to  the  central  power — that  veterinary  medicine  shall  there 
have  her  chief  of  service. 

'2.  The  veterinary  sanitary  service  should  utilize  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
veterinarians.  To  do  this  efKciently  and  economically  there  should  be  recognized 
two  degrees  or  classes  of  veterinarians.  The  one  of  a  local  nature  connected  less 
with  the  state  than  with  the  municipal  and  provincial  authorities  and  charged  with 
the  surveillance  of  fairs  and  markets  of  animals,  the  inspection  of  meats  of  the 
butchery  and  abattoires,  the  control  of  rendering  works,  the  inspection  of  breeding 
animals,  the  inspection  or  direction  of  mutual  insurance  companies  against  the  mor" 
tality  of  animals,  the  revision  of  the  census  of  domestic  animals,  &c.;  the  second 
charged  with  a  wider  range  of  duties,  comprising  the  service  of  the  state,  and  capable 
of  becoming  international,  embracing  especially  the  suppression  and  prevention  of 
contagious  maladies  and  epizootics,  and  also  the  control  of  the  different  other  veter- 
inary corps. 

3.  Between  the  various  states  which  by  a  regular  repression  and  xireventive  serv 
ice  against  epizootics,  can  furnish  the  guarantees  of  a  good  veterinary  sanitary  police 
there  should  be  established  a  treaty  having  for  its  object:  1.  To  apprize  the  other 
states  as  speedily  as  possible  of  any  eruption  of  Rinderpest,  pleuro-pneumonia  con- 
tagiosa, aphthous  fever,  sheep-pox,  maiadie  du  coit  (dourine),  glanders  (or  farcy),  and 
of  scab  in  sheep.  2.  To  publish  periodically  a  sanitary  bulletin  upon  these  diseases, 
their  extent,  progress,  and  extinction,  which  documents  should  also  be  published  in 
the  international  bulletin  if  judged  necessary.  'A.  To  oppose  these  diseases  by  meas- 
ures of  sanitary  police  which  have  first  been  discussed  and  adopted  as  the  most  ad- 
visable. 4.  To  furnish  with  animals  and  herds  that  are  moved  into  and  out  of  a  ter- 
ritory certificates  of  origin  and  health  of  a  guaranteed  administrative  value.  5.  To 
contribute  to  the  publication  of  an  international  veterinary  sanitary  bulletin. 

FIRST    RESOLUTION. 

Among  the  arguments  advanced  in  support  of  the  first  resolution 
were  the  following : 

In  various  countries  of  Europe  and  America  these  duties  essentially 
veterinary  are  left  too  much  in  the  hands  of  persons  ignorant  of  veteri- 
nary- science.  In  some  they  are  largely  dealt  with  by  bodies  mainly 
medical — sanitary  boards.  Xo  one  denies  the  great  debt  of  veterinary 
medicine  to  that  of  man.  The  works  of  the  physician  in  anatomy,  physi- 
ology, i)athology,  surgery,  «S:c.,  furnish  the  most  valuable  material  for 
the  medicine  of  animals.  The  principles  of  both  branches  of  medicine 
are  the  same.  The  observations  and  experiments  on  animals  made  to 
advance  the  one  are  of  the  highest  value  to  the  other.  Many  of  the 
parasites  and  zymotic  poisons  of  man  are  common  to  the  animal  as 
well.  But  when  we  come  to  the  application  of  these  principles  to  the 
diagnosis  and  treatment  of  disease  in  animals  the  physician  finds  that 
the  two  medicines  diverge  at  every  step,  and  that  without  a  special] 
training  he  is  helpless  to  deal  with  that  of  animals.  At  one  time  pliysi-| 
cians  could  be  found  who  were  more  accomplished  in  microscopy,  &c. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         125 

than  the  veteriuariau,  but  to-day  iu  the  veterinary  schools  of  Europe 
the  subjects  receive  as  ample  attention  as  in  the  medical. 

In  some  cases  the  bureaucratic  element  tends  to  the  subversion  of  the 
veterinary,  and  men  whose  only  knowledge  of  veterinary  matters  come 
rem  consulting  the  writings  of  some  one  veterinarian  will  pass  judg- 
ment upon  the  advice  of  the  most  skilled  expert,  and  even  decline  to 
employ  it.  It  is  for  the  jurist  to  formulate  and  promulgate  the  laws,  but 
it  is  his  duty  to  base  these  on  the  best  counsels  of  veterinary  medicine. 

To  maintain  a  satisfactory  system  not  only  must  the  veterinary  sani- 
tary work  in  departments  and  cities  be  carried  on  by  veterinarians,  but 
there  must  be  at  the  seat  of  power  a  veterinarian  or  commissioner  of 
veterinarians  as  a  centralizing  point  for  all  that  relates  to  the  veterinary 
service,  and  for  the  direction  of  that  service.  As  countries  in  which 
such  centralization  exclusively  veterinary  has  been  secured  may  be 
named  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Russia,  some  of  the  southern  Ger. 
man  states,  Saxony,  Bavaria,  Baden,  and  Alsace  Lorrain,  Portugal,  and 
Belgium.  In  Austria  there  is  a  consulting  committee  on  epizootics,  but 
which  occupies  itself  with  prevailing  maladies  alone.  In  the  depend, 
ent  Austrian  states  the  Landesthierarzt  is  a  simple  member,  sometimes 
a  simple  agent  of  the  sanitary  council.  In  Prussia  there  is  not  even  a 
chief  veterinarian  in  relation  to  the  minister,  who  only  consults  the 
technical  dei)utation  in  which  veterinary  science  is  represented.  In 
each  provincial  government  of  Prussia  a  departmental  veterinarian  or 
assessor  is  attached  usually  to  the  medical  council  as  councilor  (referee) 
for  veterinary  service.  In  France  the  veterinary  element  now  predom- 
inates in  the  superior  committee  of  epizootics.  In  England  the  privy 
council  veterinary  department  has  three  veterinarians  in  a  body  of  six 
members.  In  Switzerland,  attached  to  the  department  of  agriculture, 
is  a  veterinary'  commissioner  of  epizootics  as  counsel  on  the  whole  sub. 
ject  of  federal  veterinary  police,  but  he  has  no  voice  as  to  the  compe- 
tence of  cantonal  authorities.  In  Italy  there  is  no  central  veterinary 
officer,  and  the  bulletin  of  epizootic  statistics  is  compiled  from  data  fur- 
nished by  municipalities. 

After  considerable  discussion  the  following  was  passed  with  only  four 
dissenting  votes : 

To  organize  iu  each  couutry  a  veteiiuary  sauitary  service,  charged  exclnsively 
with  all  that  pertains  to  this  service,  of  which  the  members,  all  veterinarians,  shall 
be  councilors  of  all  branches  of  tlie  administration,  but  which  shall  be  especially  rep- 
resented near  the  central  authorities,  where  the  chief  veterinary  othciiil  shall  be  sta- 
tioned. 

SECOND   RESOH'TIOK. 

In  regard  to  this  the  reporter  pointed  out  the  impropriety  of  binding 
the  Government  to  employ  as  its  local  expert  the  veterinarian  who  hap- 
pens to  be  in  attendance  upon  the  infected  herd,  the  danger  of  such  a 
person  (carrying  infection  to  other  herds  in  the  round  of  his  practice,  the 
suspicion,  usually  unmerited,  that  he  may  hide  infection  in  the  inter- 


126  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

ests  of  his  employers  rather  than  apply  rigid  measures  of  extiuctiou  for 
the  good  of  the  commonwealth,  the  fact  that  he  may  be  an  excellent 
general  practitioner  and  yet  not  a  specialist  in  epizootics,  who  may  coun- 
sel treatment  when  the  best  sanitary  science  imperatively  demands  sac- 
rifice, who  will  make  a  dangerous  distinction  between  farcy  and  glan- 
ders, or  who  will  ])refer  preventive  inoculation  in  pleuropneumonia  to 
slaughter.  What  can  be  exi)ected  of  the  veterinarian  who  has  become 
hopeless  and  apathetic,  whose  calling  is  to  him  but  a  handicraft,  or  who 
has  become  morally  debased  ? 

The  increasing  numbers  of  live  stock,  the  facility  in  transporting  them 
long  distances  by  steam,  and  the  great  demands  of  Western  Europe  for 
outside  supplies  demand  for  the  inspector  of  to-day  a  very  ditt'erent 
official  from  those  of  the  past.  The  lack  of  a  thoroughly  eflicieut  vet- 
erinary sanitary  service  was  felt  when  the  lung  plague  attained  such  a 
wide  extension  in  1840,  when  the  Kinderpest  ravaged  Holland  and 
Euglaud  in  1805,  and  France  in  1870,  when  influenza  spread  over 
America  in  1872,  lung  plague  in  1878,  or  when  hog  cholera  destroyed  in 
a  single  state  hogs  to  the  value  of  $20,000,000  in  one  year. 

Already  a  good  beginning  has  been  made  in  difiterent  states.  Hol- 
land has  nine  district  veterinarians  under  state  salary.  France  has  in 
the  department  of  the  Seine  live  exclusively  occupied  in  the  state  serv- 
ice:  England  has  twenty-three  salaried  port  inspectors;  Portugal  has 
twenty-one  on  state  salaries,  not  large  enough,  however,  to  make  them 
independent  of  practice,  and  the  same  applies  to  the  states  of  Cler. 
many  and  Austria  where  the  Government  veterinary  officers  have  reg- 
ular salaries,  but  insufficient  for  their  entire  maintenance. 

The  held  with  which  a  departmental  veterinarian  is  charged  should 
be  large  enough  to  insure  that  the  office  shall  be  no  sinecure,  and  that 
he  shall  not  by  private  practice  interfere  with  that  of  the  local  veteri- 
narians. He  should  be  appointed  after  a  special  examination,  or  excep- 
tionally for  signal  services  in  sanitary  police. 

The  department  veterinarian  should  counsel  the  central  authorities, 
advise  legislation,  take  the  direction  in  the  prevention  and  extinction 
of  epizootics,  and  direct  the  work  of  the  local  veterinarians.  To  these 
last  would  be  left  the  inspection  of  fairs  and  markets,  meat  markets, 
slaughter-houses,  &c..  of  animals  sent  by  railroad,  and  the  general  local 
work  of  the  service.  They  should  make  to  the  chief  veterinarian  writ- 
ten reports  of  any  extraordinary  occurrence  in  their  district  and  ])eriodic 
reports  of  the  general  work  accomplished.  These  will  furnish  data  for 
the  publication  of  statistics  of  the  animals  kept,  bred,  purchased,  sold, 
killed  for  food,  dying  of  sporadic  and  epizootic  disease,  attacked  by  epi- 
zootics, «&c.  Tliese  in  relation  to  geology,  soil,  drainage,  meteorology, 
culture,  breeds,  breeding,  alimentation,  use,  &c.,  will  supply  data  of 
thegreatest  value  to  stockholders,  veteriiuirians,  hygienists,  physicians, 
dealers,  and  jtolitical  economists. 

As  a  rule  the  destruction  of  animals  to  arrest  an  epizootic  should  be 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        127 

ordered  by  the  chief  or  departmeutal  veteriuariau,  thereby  securiug"  at 
ouce  the  guarantee  of  a  diagnosis  by  more  than  one  expert  and  saving 
the  local  veterinarian  from  the  unpleasant  duty  of  ordering  a  work  that 
maybe  unacceptable  to  his  regular  employer. 

Xot  the  least  important  duty  of  the  local  veterinarian  is  in  connection 
with  the  mutual  assurance  of  animals  against  deaths  from  sporadic  dis 
eases.  Losses  from  epizootics  are  iudemnifted  by  the  state,  but  losses 
from  diseases  that  are  not  communicable  justly  become  a  tax  on  the 
stock  owners  of  the  municipality  or  district.  Such  an  arrangement  en- 
gages the  interest  of  the  stock  owners  not  only  to  report  the  contagious 
diseases  early,  but  the  non-contagious  as  well,  and  to  use  all  resources 
of  science  for  the  cure  of  the  latter,  but  much  more  for  their  prevention. 
The  local  veterinarian  as  a  regular  officer  of  such  societies,  directing, 
supervising,  inspecting,  finds  his  interest  consulted  in  urging  all  that 
can  conduce  to  health  in  breeding,  management,  and  treatment,  and 
wherever  such  associations  have  been  introduced  there  has  been  a  nota- 
ble improvement  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  quality  and  numbers  of  the 
live  stock. 

The  local  veterinarian,  being  an  essential  part  of  the  national  veteri- 
nary sanitary  service,  it  should  not  be  in  the  power  of  the  local  authority 
to  discontinue  his  services,  nor  to  api)oint  to  the  position  any  one  but 
a  competent  veterinarian  (a  graduate). 

After  discussion  mainly  of  the  right  of  the  sanitary  veterinarian  to 
engage  in  ordinary  practice,  and  of  the  desirability  of  specifying  two 
classes  of  veterinary  officials,  the  following  was  adopted  by  a  large  ma- 
jority : 

2.  That  the  veterinary  sanitary  service  should  utilize  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
veterinarians.  It  embraces  the  inspection  of  fairs  and  markets  of  animals,  of  meats  of 
the  butchery  and  abattoir,  the  control  of  rendering  works,  the  inspection  of  breeding 
animals,  the  supervision  or  direction  of  mutual  assurance  societies  against  the  mor- 
tality of  beasts,  the  revision  of  the  census  of  domestic  animals ;  *  *  »  it  conipi'e- 
hends  the  service  of  the  state  and  may  become  international,  embracing  especiallT 
the  repression  and  prevention  of  contagious  maladies  and  epizootics,  also  the  coutro 
of  all  other  veterinary  service. 

THIRD   RESOLUTION. 

In  support  of  the  third  resolution  Zundel  advanced  that  contagious 
maladies  are  no  longer  recognized  as  of  spontaneous  origin  ;  that  day 
by  day  the  advocates  of  spontaniety  yield  the  point,  and  that  well-ob- 
served facts  prove  that  it  is  by  contagion  that  these  maladies  are  at 
once  propagated  and  perjietuated.  To  prevent  the  propagation  of  these 
maladies  it  is  necessary  to  have  in  all  countries  enjoying  an  interna, 
tional  commerce  in  live  stock  a  common,  permanent,  and  efficient  sys- 
tem of  preventing  or  at  least  of  arresting  them  in  their  inception.  The 
value  of  an  international  arrangement  for  the  control  of  llinderpest  has 
long  been  recognized  and  becomes  yearly  more  imjjortant.  The  demands 
of  Western  Europe  for  a  meat  sup]>ly  are  constantly  increasing,  while 


128  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  anirual  production  iu  Western  Europe  remains  stationary,  or  even 
diminishes.  This  imperious  demand  for  beef,  and  the  facility  for  its  sup- 
ply by  cheap  railway  transport  from  the  East,  cannot  fail  to  insure  an 
increase  of  tlie  Eastern  traffic,  and  unless  conducted  under  efficient  in- 
ternational measures  of  protection  this  must  deluge  the  West  continu- 
ally with  this  most  fatal  of  all  bovine  plagues.  The  improved  culture 
on  the  Steppes  and  the  introduction  of  better  forage  plants  enable  the 
stock  owners  to  tide  over  the  dry  summer  and  the  frozen  w^inter  more 
satisfactorily,  and  thus  contribute  still  more  to  the  numbers  and  excel- 
lence of  the  Eastern  supply.  Austria  imported  20,000  Russian  cattle 
in  1861,  30,000  in  1868,  and  55,000  in  1872.  The  more  stringent  restric- 
tions have  later  lessened  the  numbers,  but  the  increasing  demands  of 
the  West  and  supplies  of  the  East  must,  ere  long,  turn  the  tide  once 
more,  and  bring  large  installments  of  these  Eastern  beeves.  Hitherto 
protection  has  been  sought  by  the  more  or  less  perfect  exclusion  of 
Steppe  cattle,  but  the  time  must  come  when  this  shall  be  superseded 
by  an  international  arrangement  founded  on  solid  guarantees  of  the 
soundness  of  the  cattle  exported. 

Already  in  regard  to  Rinderpest  this  has  been  attempted ;  to-day  all 
the  different  countries  of  Germany  act  on  the  same  law,  that  of  7th 
April,  1869,  in  repelling  and  repressing  this  i^lague,  and  in  April,  1872, 
Austria  called  in  Vienna  a  conference  to  consult  as  to  the  requisite  in- 
ternational guarantees,  and  delegates  attended  from  Germany,  England, 
Austro- Hungary,  Belgium,  France,  Italy,  Roumania,  Russia,  Servia, 
Switzerland,  and  Turkey.  If  each  country  would  organize  an  efficient 
service  to  stamp  out  Rinderpest  as  far  as  possible  and  to  prevent  its 
radiatiug  outward  from  any  existing  center  of  infection,  every  state 
might  by  this  perfect  isolation  of  its  limited  infected  area  secure  an 
untrameled  cattle  traffic  for  its  entire  territory  besides. 

The  same  can  be  done  for  contagious  pleuropneumonia,  and  it  is 
easily  demonstrated  how  much  evil  has  already  resultetl  from  the  neg- 
lect of  other  Governments  to  respond  to  the  Swiss  movement  in  this  di- 
rection in  1876.  From  this  England  loses  yearly  about  5,000  cattle 
Belgium, 2,000 to3,000;  Prussia,  2,000;  Wurtemberg,500;  Austria, 2,000 
to  3,000,  and  France  and  Italy  corresponding  numbers.  Rinderpest  is 
comparatively  easily  suppressed,  because  its  prompt  eruption  and  fatal 
issue  strikes  the  population  with  terror  and  it  cannot  be  hidden  ;  but 
the  lung  plague  strikes  slyly,  hides  its  tracks,  and,  creeping  into  the 
stables  unseen,  it  diffuses  its  poison,  infects,  benumbs,  and  paralyzes 
tlie  lungs  without  the  body  appearing  to  suffer,  and  it  only  manifests 
itself  by  outward  symptoms  when  all  is  lost.  More  than  this,  the  lung 
plague  often  assumes  the  benign  and  almost  latent  form,  so  that  after 
months  of  incubation  it  still  rests  unrecognized  and  unsuspected,  as- 
suming a  chronic  type,  but  still  scattering  the  poison,  and  the  subject 
even  appearing  to  recover,  without  an  abatement  of  its  infecting 
power.    Often,  too,  the  laws,  and  even  very  recent  ones,  take  but  half 


i 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        129 

measures  agaiust  this  plague,  leaving  it  to  intrench  itself  more  and 
more  firmly  and  to  maintain  itself  permanently  in  a  country  where  it  is 
only  an  exotic,  a  foreign  invader,  and  where  it  could  easily  be  excluded 
through  an  efficient  international  system.  For  this,  therefore,  even 
more  than  for  rinderpest,  an  efficient  system  of  mutual  international 
protection  is  urgently  demanded. 

The  aphthous  fever  is  largely  combated  by  restrictions  on  the  move- 
ment of  cattle  and  the  interdiction  of  fairs  and  markets,  yet  these 
rarely  arrest  its  progress,  but  the  barriers  that  put  a  stop  to  the  rinder- 
pest allow  the  aphthous  fever  to  pass,  as  happened  in  Saxony  in  18G7. 
With  such  a  diffusible  poison  success  miist  be  sought  in  its  declaration, 
suppression,  and  seclusion  in  the  home  herds  and  by  preventing  it  from 
passing  at  all  into  the  channels  of  traffic,  and  this  can  only  be  secured 
through  a  common  international  system. 

Formerly  lung  plague,  aphthous  fever,  and  sheep-pox  remained  habit- 
ually circumscribed  in  particular  districts  ;  to-day,  with  the  great  move- 
ments of  stock  in  mass,  their  concentration  in  vast  markets,  and  their 
constant  changes  in  the  large  feeding  stables,  it  has  become  impossible 
to  deal  effectively  with  these  plagues  except  in  native  herds,  ami  this 
imperatively  demands  a  uniform  international  system,  with  solid  mutual 
guarantees. 

Glanders  and  farcy  occurring  in  an  occult  form  with  lesions  internal 
and  unsuspected,  and  following  a  chronic  course,  is  another  fruitful 
source  of  trouble,  and  a  country  that  pays  for  such  animals  when 
slaughtered  especially  suffers,  as  the  diseased  animals  are  smuggled 
across  the  frontier  in  order  to  secure  the  indemnity.  Even  the  residence 
of  several  months  required  in  order  to  the  payment  of  indemnity  is 
insufficient  to  guard  against  this  sharp  practice. 

The  mad  dog  does  not  always  take  the  road  to  the  custom-house,  nor 
recognize  the  colors  of  the  frontier  posts.  Here,  therefore,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  maintain  a  common  system  of  repression  and  the  mutual 
notification  of  the  existence  of  rabies. 

Maladie  du  coif ,  though,  unlike  the  two  last,  in  that  it  respects  the 
human  family,  should  yet  as  regards  the  equine  races  be  made  the  ob- 
ject of  international  guarantees. 

Anthrax  and  several  pjirasitic  maladies,  including  even  measles  and 
trichinosis  in  swine,  are  more  purely  matters  of  local  danger,  and  are 
to  be  controlled  by  local  measures  and  by  inspection  in  the  great  meat 
markets. 

Energetic  sanitary  measures  within  the  limits  of  a  single  state  have 
been  often  notably  successful,  as  against  lung  plague  in  Switzerland, 
Holland,  I*ortugal,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  against  sheep-pox,  apart  from 
Northern  German}'  and  Hungary,  and  against  rabies  in  Baden.  How 
much  better  if  there  were  a  common  international  co-operation,  which 
would  at  once  more  effectively  repress  animal  plagues  and  release  the 
commerce  in  live  stock  and  all  their  fresh  products  (hides,  hoofs,  hair, 
5751  D  A 9 


130  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

bristles,  fat,  guts),  as  well  as  fodder  aud  straw,  from  the  present  obnox- 
ious and  injurious  restrictions. 

Unfortunately  In  all  modern  legislation  on  the  subject  not  only  are 
the  laws  peculiar  to  the  individual  state,  but  they  reflect  the  jealousies 
and  lack  of  adjacent  states.  Thus  in  the  absence  of  official  trust-' 
worthy  and  trusted  reports  a  whole  country  has  its  trade  restricted, 
delayed,  and  seriously  injured  for  a  slight  outbreak  which  could  easily 
be  sequestrated  and  a  perfect  guarantee  of  its  non-extension  furnished. 
It  is  to  be  feared,  indeed,  that  in.  some  instances  what  is  i)racticed  un- 
der the  name  of  veterinary  sanitary  police  is  conceived  more  in  the 
spirit  of  maintaining  the  high  price  of  meat  than  of  restricting  and  ex- 
tirpating animal  plagues. 

If  the  work  could  be  made  international,  and  if  the  plagues  could  be 
effectively  dealt  with  in  the  local  areas  of  their  prevalence,  all  the  more 
obnoxious  interference  with  commerce  might  be  done  away  with,  the 
present  temptation  to  clandestine  trade  in  infected  animals  obviated, 
and  a  better  and  more  rebable  protection  afforded. 

The  inspection  of  animals  at  the  frontiers  has  proved  practically  useless, 
because  animals  that  have  become  infected  but  do  not  yet  show  signs 
of  disease  are  necessarily  allowed  to  pass,  and  with  the  modern  immense 
railway  traffic  in  fat  animals  a  sufficient  quarantine  is  practically  ]n'o- 
hibitory  of  importation. 

Another  grave  objection  to  this  system  is  that  animals  found  diseased 
are  simply  sent  back  over  the  frontier,  and  as  the  service  is  national 
and  not  international,  the  neighboring  state  is  not  warned  of  the  active 
focus  of  infection  thus  created  within  it. 

Certificates  of  origin  and  health  emanating  from  officials  and  based 
on  expert  knowledge  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  district  furnishing 
the  stock  should  be  really  valuable  documents,  whereas  certificates 
made  out  by  irresponsible  individuals,  and  with  which  the  smugglers  are 
now  most  numerously  supplied,  are  grounds  for  suspicion  rather  than 
confidence. 

The  following  sum  up  the  principles  which  ought  to  dominate  in  an 
international  veterinary  sanitary  service: 

a.  Each  state  ought  to  notify  the  governments  of  adjacent  states  of 
those  joining  the  international  agreement,  and  of  all  that  desire  it,  of 
every  outbreak  of  rinderpest,  lung  plague,  sheep-pox,  maladie  du  coit^ 
glanders,  aud  rabies,  its  exact  locality  and  extension ;  and  this  should 
be  done  as  quickly  as  possible,  even  by  telegraph. 

Other  grave  maladies  transmissible  aud  importable,  and  especially 
the  typhoid  affections  and  sheep  scab,  should  be  made  the  object  of  ex- 
traordinary precautions  and  mutual  notification. 

The  authorities  ought  to  carefully  investigate  the  channel  by  which 
Contagion  finds  its  entiance  and  is  proi)agated ;  and  the  officials  of  the 
country  froui  which  it  was  derived  should  be  furnished  with  the  infor- 
mation necessary  to  enable  them  to  trace  it  to  its  earlier  sources. 


I 


Pi 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         131 

Each  Gov^ernraent  ought  to  publish  in  its  official  organs  a  sanitary 
bulletin  upon  the  sanitary  states,  the  progress  of  epizootics,  the  meas- 
ures enforced,  tlie  interdictions  of  imports,  the  changes  made  in  these 
prohibitions,  and  of  the  suppression  of  the  plague  when  that  has  been 
eft'ected.  Tiiis  bulletin  should  be  sent  to  editors  of  official  journals  of 
states  that  request  it  or  that  have  signed  the  agreement. 

b.  The  authorities  of  frontier  districts  ought  to  notify  directly  the 
authorities  of  neighboring  districts  whenever  rinderpest  or  aphthous 
fever  has  been  detected  within  100  kilometers  (62  miles)  of  the  frontier, 
or  wheu  lung  plague,  sheep-pox,  glanders,  or  rabies  has  appeared  within 
50  kilometers  (31  miles)  of  the  frontier.  In  rinderpest,  sheep-pox,  and 
rabies  the  notification  should  be  made  by  telegraph. 

c.  Every  state  should  so  organize  its  veterinary  service  as  to  be  able 
to  rai)idly  stamp  out  rinderpest  or  other  contagious  maladies. 

d.  Every  state  should  provide  that  the  laws  of  sanitary  police  .should 
be  rigorously  enforced. 

e.  By  previous  arrangement  the  laws  of  sanitary  police  in  different 
states  should  be  almost  identical  in  measures  of  isolation,  veterinary 
surveillance,  sequestration,  removal  and  burial  of  carcasses,  and  in  dis- 
infection of  all  persons  and  animals,  of  objects,  clothing,  and  harness, 
stables,  and  of  railway  cars  that  have  carried  animals  or  animal  prod- 
ucts. 

/.  For  nil  animals  attacked  or  suspected  of  one  of  the  contagious  mala- 
dies above  mentioned,  and  killed  by  police  order,  an  indemnity  should 
be  paid,  which  each  government  may  fix  by  special  law,  but  which 
should  in  no  case  be  less  than  half  the  value  of  the  animal  if  it  had 
been  sound. 

g.  A  previous  arrangement  should  prescribe  the  principles  which 
ought  to  coutrol  the  international  relations,  the  roads  and  means  of 
transport  to  be  taken,  the  conditions  of  movement  of  stock,  and,  above 
all,  that  which  refers  to  certificates  of  health  and  origin,  which  ought  as 
much  as  possible  to  be  uniform  in  the  different  countries,  and  for  the 
imi)ortant  assignments  vised  by  the  consuls  of  the  respective  countries. 

h.  The  laws  of  sanitary  police  should  order  the  transporting  agent  to 
make  instant  declaration  of  diseases  that  may  supervene  in  transit,  and 
should  prescribe  the  measures  of  sanitary  police  applicable  to  them. 

i.  There  should  be  published  an  international  sanitary  bulletin  at  in- 
tervals of  fifteen  days,  and  giving  the  sanitary  condition  of  each  country 
according  to  the  special  bulletin,  which  by  international  agreement  each 
government  should  publish.  The  international  guarantee  should  be 
based  on  government  morality,  on  a  s[)irit  of  justice,  on  practical  nnisoii; 
thus  connncrce  will  accpure  tiiat  freedom  and  integrity  which  are  essen- 
tial to  it.  It  should  prescribe  the  movement  of  all  stock  coming  from 
a  country,  the  sanitary  condition  of  which  is  unknown.  The  great  pub 
licity  given  to  the  official  reports,  olteii  sent  by  telegraph  ami  dilfused 
through    the  most  rapid  channels,   would    give  a  guarantee  of  their 


132  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

veracity  ;  tbey  ought  to  emanate  from  the  authorities  of  the  countries 
and  be  drawu  up  by  veterinarians. 

With  this  bulletin  they  would  know  at  each  custom-house  what  coun- 
tries can  supply  stock  to  international  markets,  and  from  what  the 
stock  must  be  refused ;  this  international  bulletin  should  be  a  check  on 
certificates  of  health  and  of  origin,  and  should  enable  the  officials  to  ap- 
preciate their  value. 

The  bulletin  would  thus  furnish  the  best  mutual  guarantee  for  inter- 
national commerce,  and  give  mutual  confidence  between  nations  carry- 
ing on  with  each  other  a  traffic  in  domestic  animals. 

The  nations  will  better  comprehend  on  the  basis  of  epizootics  what 
they  generally  fail  to  arrive  at  on  that  of  politics.  One  stej)  may  per- 
luips  lead  to  others. 

The  third  resolution,  adopted  unanimously,  reads  as  follows : 

Between  the  different  states,  whicli  by  a  regular  service  repressive  and  prevent- 
ive of  epizootics  are  able  to  furnish  gnarantees  of  a  good  veterinary  sanitary  police, 
there  should  be  established  an  agreement  having  for  its  object:  1.  To  notify  other 
states,  with  the  least  i)ossible  delay,  of  the  eruption  of  lung  plague,  aphthous  fever, 
sheep-pox,  maladie  (lit  coit,  glanders  (or  farcy),  and  sheep-scab.  2.  To  publish  a  pe- 
riodic veterinary  bulletin  on  these  maladies — on  their  status,  extension,  and  termina- 
tions; which  information  should  also  be  sent  to  the  international  bulletin,  if  judged 
Becessary.  3.  To  combat  these  maladies  by  measures  of  sanitary  police  which  have 
been  previously  discussed  and  adopted  as  the  best.  4.  Not  to  permit  the  delivery  of 
animals  nor  of  herds  which  are  being  sent  in  or  out  of  the  territory,  except  on  cer.  j 
tificate  of  origin  and  of  health  of  a  guaranteed  administrative  value.  5.  To  con^^ 
tribute  to  the  publication  of  an  international  veterinary  bulletin. 

IIE3IARKS. 

The  above  has  been  reported  at  considerable  length  because  of  its 
manifest  bearing  on  the  problems  which  now  press  on  the  American  'a 
people  for  solution.     In  America,  as  in  Europe,  the  medical  and  polit- 
ical authorities  have  undertaken  too  much  of  what  properly  pertains  to'':)v 
the  veterinary  profession,  and,  as  a  consequence,  we  have  had  measures 
that  aimed  at  repression  rather  than  extinction  of  animal  plagues,  and^,^ 
the  administration  of  these  and  even  of  better  measures  has  been  madefy 
in  such  an  irregular  and  badly  sustained  manner  that  what  had  been 
gained  to-daj*  by  much  efitbrt  and  outlay  was  lost  on  the  morrow  by  a 
relaxation  or  entire  suspension  of  the  rules. 

To  have  efficient  legislation  the  best  available  veterinary  advice 
should  be  secured  as  to  the  measures  to  be  framed  in  a  bill,  and  a  vet- 
erinary authority  should  be  intrusted  to  see  the  statute  rigidlj^  and  im« 
partially  administered.  Place  it  in  the  hands  of  a  mere  beaurocracy 
and  this  will  too  often,  as  in  the  past,  result  in  its  administration  ia 
what  they  consider  the  spirit — not  the  letter — of  the  law,  until  all  its 
valuable  provisions  are  frittered  away  and  lost.  A  knowledge  of  the 
diseases  is  essential  to  a  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  principles  on 
which  suppressive  measures  must  be  based,  and,  in  ignorance  of  tliese 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF"   DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS  133 

principles,  an^"  attempt  to  carry  out  the  law  iu  its  spirit  ratber  tliau  its 
letter  is  sure  to  end  in  blundering  and  failure. 

Then,  again,  as  regards  interstate  administration,  nothing  can  be 
more  instructive  to  Americans  than  the  European  diflticulties  in  dealing 
with  the  animal  plagues  under  the  modern  conditions  of  great  manu- 
facturing prosperity  and  the  unprecedented  activity  of  the  traflic  by 
rail.  Examinations  of  cattle  in  transit  must  be  given  up  as  absolutely 
inefficient,  for  herds  that  formerly  developed  disease  during  the  tardy 
and  toilsome  movement  by  highways  can  now  be  sent  through  in  a  few 
days  by  rail  and  long  before  the  deadly  germs  within  them  can  manifest 
their  presence  by  overt  symptoms.  No  better  commentary  can  be  fur- 
nished on  the  utterly  futile  provisions  in  a  number  of  successive  Con- 
gressional bills  for  the  inspection  of  cattle  in  transit  in  our  inland 
I  trade  and  of  beeves  about  to  be  shipped  to  Europe.  Again,  the  enor 
mous  i)roportions  of  the  constantly  increasing  cattle  trade  toward  min- . 
ing,  manufacturing,  and  commercial  centers  in  Weisteru  Europe  has 
been  found  to  be  utterly  incompatible  with  the  maintenance  of  such  a 
quarantine  as  would  protect  against  imported  contagion,  and  they  are 
for  the  first  time  brought  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that  the  protection 
of  any  country  in  the  line  of  this  great  cattle  traffic  must  be  secured, 
if  at  all,  by'a  perfect  system  of  seclusion  and  suppression  in  the  country 
which  furnishes  the  supplies  of  live  stock,  and  by  an  honorable  exclu- 
sion by  such  country  from  the  channels  of  traffic  of  all  live  stock  and 
their  fresh  products  having  their  origin  in  an  infected  district.  Amer- 
ican lawmakers  and  administrators  must  see  that  our  uninfected 
States  and  Territories  can  have  no  guarantee  of  continued  safety  in  our 
present  system  under  Avhich  live  stock  from  infected  States  and  dis- 
tricts, without  even  the  pitiful  and  comparatively  useless  form  of  inspec- 
tion and  certificate,  are  sent  to  the  very  source  of  our  great  live-stock 
traffic.  Fortunately  for  us  our  westward  traffic  in  live  stock  is  so  lim- 
ited that  it  is  quite  possible  to  impose  an  etiective  quarantine  on  all 
subjects  moved  in  that  direction.  If  nothing  more  can  be  done,  this  at 
least  is  within  our  power.  Each  State  can  quarantine  all  cattle  or  other 
live  stock  from  an  infected  State,  or  if  the  State  fails  in  its  duty  to 
itself  and  neighbors  the  United  States  can  step  in  and  regulate  this 
item  of  intestate  commerce. 

Again,  the  exi)erience  of  Europe  with  her  great  live-stock  traffic  by 
rail  sbows  how  utterly  hel])less  we  would  be  in  any  attempt  to  control 
these  animal  plagues  if  they  once  reached  the  source  of  this  traffic,  As 
is  now  the  case  with  Texas  fever,  our  first  resort  would  be  to  prohibit 
all  movement  of  susceptible  stock  from  the  infected  areas,  and  the  next 
to  seek  by  every  i)ossible  means  to  stamp  out  the  infection  on  the  native 
herds.  If  Eun)i)e  with  her  extensive,  not  to  say  universal,  fields  of  in- 
fection, finds  her  i)rofit  in  maintaining  a  uniform  veterinary  sanitary 
service,  operating  at  every  ])oint  over  the  broad  continent,  and  supi)ress- 
iiig  and  secluding  animal  i)lagues  wherever  they  may  appear,  how  much 


134  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

more  profitable  aiust  it  be  for  the  United  States  in  dealing  with  her  one 
exotic  and  imported  plague,  that  of  the  lungs  of  cattle,  which  is  still 
confined  to  the  merest  strip  of  her  territory",  and  when  the  proposed 
control  is  to  i)revent  its  extension  over  the  w  hole  continent,  and  the  ne- 
cessity for  a  similar  service  and  control  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific? 
It  would  require  but  the  outlay  of  a  sum  eqnal  to  half  our  yearly  losses 
on  cattle  exports  by  this  cause  alone  to  abolish  this  cause  forever;  it 
would  require  but  the  expenditure  of  a  trifling  fraction  to  save  us  from 
the  future  loss  of  millions.  Again,  if  the  independent  nations  of  Europe 
find  it  necessary  to  have  an  international  system  of  repression  and  ex- 
tinction to  expel  their  prevailing  animal  plagues,  and  if  they  have  to 
sink  national  jealousies  and  rivalries  in  the  presence  of  these  interna- 
tional enemies,  will  the  United  States  of  America,  with  a  Federal  Con- 
gress and  one  Federal  Executive,  sacrifice  to  a  sentiment  our  birthright 
to  the  most  extended  live-stock  interests  in  the  world  I 

Shall  we  calmly  see  the  European  states,  with  a  legacy  of  ages  of 
Avarfare  and  mutual  hate,  and  ground  down  by  their  immense  standing 
armies,  the  root  and  fruition  of  their  common  susjjicions,  unite  cordially 
and  loyally  in  a  common  international  work  to  crush  out  the  prevailing 
infections  of  centuries  nwd  to  secure  an  untrammeled  trafiic  in  healthy 
live  stock  and  sound  meat  while  our  mutually  dependent  States,  bound 
in  one  federation,  an  unit  in  war,  an  unit  in  commerce,  and,  an  unit  in 
all  that  relates  to  foreign  nations — shall  these  States  let  a  mutual  jeal- 
ousy prevent  an  interstate  sanitary  work  court  the  general  diffusion  of 
ourexotic  infections,  load  the  continent  with  animal  plagues  under  which 
modern  conditions  must  be  more  ruinous  even  than  those  of  Europe  in 
the  past,  and  shut  themselves  out  from  supplying  the  meat  market  of 
the  world  which  it  is  now  theirs  to  take  and  to  hold  ! 

2.  CONTAGIOUS  PLEUEO  PNEUMONIA  OF  CATTLE. 

This  subject  was  introduced  by  an  extended  report  by  Professor  De- 
give  and  two  supplementary  reports  by  Messrs.  Leblanc  and  Putz. 
Degive  arrived  at  the  following  conclusions  : 

A. — Differential  diagnosis. 

1.  From  an  anatomical  point  of  view  we  may  consider  as  contagious  and  epizootic  all 
i  nterstitial  pneumonias  of  a  certain  extent  of  wbicli  the  development  does  not  depend 
on  local  conditions  or  causes.  i 

2.  From  a  physiological  stand-point,  epizootic  pleuro-pneiunonia  is  especially  char- 
acterized iu  the  living  animal  by  its  contagious  character  and  the  symptons  of  lobar 
jdieumouia. 

:?.  In  an  infected  stalilc  every  animal  that  shows  fever  with  one  or  more  symptoms 
denotiug  irritation  of  the  respiratory  organs,  cough,  hurried,  plaintive  breathing,  itc, 
should  be  suspected  of  pleuro-pneuuiouia. 

4.  The  spontaneity  of  one  case  of  pleuro-pueumonia  will  not  exclude  the  existence 
of  the  contagious  aficction. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OP    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS,         135 

B. — Prophylaxis. 

1.  The  development  of  pleiiro-puenuionia  may  sometimes  be  preveuted  by  a  simple 
recourse  to  good  hygienic  conditions. 

2.  Animals  alteeted  with  the  malady,  or  suspected  of  it,  should  be  sacrificed  as 
quickly  as  possible. 

3.  Animals  suspected  of  infection,  or  very  much  exposed  to  contagion,  should  be 
isolated  or  sacrificed.  The  slaughter  of  animals  suspected  of  infection  is  more  espe- 
cially indicated  when  the  disease  manifests  itself  very  exceptionally,  or  for  the  first 
time,  in  a  stable  belonging  to  a  commune  rich  in  cattle. 

4.  Animals  suspected  of  infection,  or  very  mnch  exposed  to  contagion,  and  not  sac- 
rificed, would  be  profitably  submitted  to  inoculation  or  to  an  appropriate  preventive 
medication.  Inoculation  is  especially  applicable  when  the  animals  make  part  of  a 
large  herd,  subject  to  frequent  changes,  or  where  the  malady  has  already  appeared 
several  times. 

5.  Inoculation  should  not  be  jirescribed  as  a  general  or  obligatory  measure  until  a 
method  is  devised  which  can  be  practiced  without  danger  to  the  health  or  life  of  the 
beasts  operated  on. 

6.  Inoenlation  should  not  be  practiced  without  the  previous  authorization  of  the 
local  authority.  It  should  only  be  done  by  a  veterinarian  and  under  police  surveil- 
lance. 

7.  Every  iuoculated  animal  should  be  considered  as  suspected  of  contamination  and 
treated  as  such. 

8.  The  diseased  and  suspected  animals  should  be  reported  to  the  authority  with  the 
least  possible  delay.  This  report  should  be  made  obligatory  on  owners  and  attendants, 
veterinarians,  and  inspectors — the  experts  of  the  abattoir  or  butchery. 

y.  Quarantined  (isoles)  animals  should  be  made  the  object  of  a  special  census  and 
should  receive  a  distinctive  brand  with  a  hot  iron. 

10.  No  animal  suspected  of  infection  should  be  moved  Avith()ut  previous  authoriza- 
tion of  the  communal  administration.  The  permit  to  move  should  only  be  granted 
for  animals  destined  to  the  butchery  ;  it  should  only  take  place  in  special  conditions, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  police  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  all  propaga- 
tion of  the  malady. 

11.  Every  bovine  animal  oflered  for  sale  ought  to  be  accompanied  by  a  certificate 
of  health  testifying  that  no  epizootic  has  existed  for  at  least  six  weeks  in  the  com- 
mune from  Avhich  it  came, 

12.  In  certain  special  cases  to  be  determined  by  the  veterinary  official  there  may  be 
prescribed  the  suspension  of  fairs  and  markets,  the  prohibition  of  the  importation  of 
animals  from  a  suspected  country,  (luarantine,  the  posting  of  notices  at  the  entrance 
of  infected  circles  or  farms,  and  the  writing  of  handbills  and  instructions  w^arning 
the  [topulation  of  their  obligations  and  of  the  precautious  to  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
appearance  or  extension  of  the  malady. 

13.  An  active  supervision  should  be  exercised,  not  only  over  the  quarantined  beasts, 
but  also  :  a.  Of  animals  exposed  for  sale  in  markets,  fields,  and  fairs,  b.  Over  ani- 
mals lodged  temporarily  in  the  stal)les  of  inns  adjoining  the  markets,  c.  In  stables 
containing  many  animals  subject  to  fVe<iueiit  changes,  and  when  the  malady  has  al- 
leady  made  one  or  several  outbreaks. 

14.  The  duration  of  quarantine  should  be  for  4.5  days  at  least  after  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  disease. 

15.  At  the  release  from  (luarantine  the  cattle  should  receive  a  second  mark  to  annul 
the  effect  of  tlie  first. 

16.  The  flesh  of  an  animal  slaughfcred  should  not  be  used  for  food  unless  authorized 
bj^  the  veterinarian  making  the  autopsy. 

17.  The  skin  should  nof  be  utilized  until  it  has  been  steeped  for  at  least  twenty-four 
hours  in  an  approved  disinfectant  solution. 


136  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

18.  Carcasses  and  cadavric  debris  uTifit  for  food  should  be  buried  or  so  treated  as  to 
become  absolutely  inoffeusive. 

19.  Stables,  fair-grouuds,  markets,  aud  vehicles  which  have  beeu  occupied  by  dis- 
eased or  suspected  auinuils,  should  be  carefully  cleaused,  disiufected,  and  puritied. 
These  dift'erent  operations  should  be  under  the  direction  of  a  veterinarian. 

20.  A  stable  perfectly  disinfected  and  purilied  by  eight  days'  free  ventilation  may 
he  refilled  without  danger. 

21.  Pasturages  that  have  been  occupied  liy  diseased  cattle  should  be  shut  up  for 
forty  days  at  least. 

"22.  Th<i  different  materials,  objects,  aud  instruments  that  have  been  employed  in 
tlie  slaughter,  transportation,  and  burial  of  diseased  or  suspected  animals  should  l>e 
destroyed  or  thoroughly  disinfected.  Forage  aud  litter  should  be  utilized  for  horses 
and  other  solipedes. 

23.  Persons  who  have  become  soiled  by  infecting  materials  should  wash  their  hands, 
brush  or  wash  their  clothes,  and  wash  their  boots  with  a  disinfectant  solution. 

24.  All  persons  and  animals  capable  of  carrying  the  virus  should  be,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, kept  from  disea-ed  animals,  their  carcasses,  aud  cadavric  debris.* 

2.5.  Indemnity  should  be  accorded  :  1.  For  animals  slaughtered  officially.  2.  For 
those  that  have  died  from  inoculation.  3.  For  dirtVi-ent  ol.yects  or  instruments  of 
■which  the  destruction  is  judged  necessary. 

26.  Very  heavy  penalties  should  be  imposed  on  persons  who  violate  the  different 
sanitary  regulations  ordered  by  the  authorities. 

27.  A  good  organization  of  the  veterinary  service  is  the  best  guarantee  of  the  ap- 
plication of  the  dift'erent  measures  prescribed. 

28.  A  last  and  potent  measure  for  securing  the  extinction  of  contagious  pleuro-pneu- 
monia  consists  in  adopting  a  provision  for  the  contagious  diseases  of  animals  as  has 
beeu  done  for  the  phyloxera  of  the  vine  ;  to  formulate  an  international  agreement,  in 
which  shall  beindicated  the  essential  elements  which  ought  to  form  the  basis  of  the 
legislation  to  be  adopted  by  each  country  which  shall  join  it. 

Degive  justly  accorded  to  lung  plague  a  principal  place  among  the 
plagues  which  are  most  detrimental  to  agriculture  aud  the  public  wealth. 
In  enumerating  its  anatomicallesionshe  lays  stress  on  the  inliammatory 
action  being  especially  provocative  of  exudation  into  the  interstitial 
connective  tissues  of  the  lung — interlobular,  perivascular,  interalveolar, 
and  subpleural — upon  the  prominent  implication  of  the  lymphatics, 
upon  the  great  extent  of  lungs  involved  even  when  the  general  symp- 
toms of  illness  have  only  just  appeared,  upon  the  presenceof  lesions  of 
different  ages,  implying  a  long  standing  and  a  slow  and  occult  progress 
of  the  disease,  and  the  existence  in  the  exudate  of  the  specific  micrococ- 
cus of  Willems,  Bruylant,  and  Verriest.  (Strangely  enough,  he  fails  to 
emphasize  the  infarctions  and  encysted  sequestra  which  are  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  affection.)  Under  the  head  of  physiological  characters, 
beside  the  general  synjptoms  of  fever  and  inliammation  of  the  lungs,  he 
lays  special  stress  on  the  two  types  of  the  disease,  rapid  and  slow,  the 
latter  remaining  insidious,  hidden,  and  apart  from  indications  furnished 
by  auscultation  and  percussion,  hardly  recognizable  throughout  its 
entire  course;  on  the  mortality  averaging  30  per  cent. ;  on  the  infectious 
property,  very  variable  in  different  cases,  but  always  highly  conclusive 
wheu  well  marked.  He  seeks  to  establish  a  theory  of  spontaneity  from 
the  facts  that  in  many  cases  contagion  cannot  be  traced,  that  Oiawitz, 
Greenfield,  and  JJuchuerhave  cultivated  pathogenic  fungi  and  bacteria 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        137 

until  they  have  become  harmless,  and  harmless  germs,  until  they  have 
become  pathogenic. 

Under  prophylaxis  Degive  adduces  instances  in  which  a  thorough  at- 
tention to  the  laws  of  hygiene  in  ventilation,  lighting,  feeding,  &c.,  have 
seemed  to  arrest  the  propagation  of  the  poison.  In  this  as  in  the  ques- 
tion of  spontaneity  the  experience  of  Degive,  limited  to  a  country  in 
which  the  disease  constantly  prevails,  is  misleading.  He  fails  to  take 
into  account  such  sweeping  evidence  as  the  entire  absence  of  the  lung- 
plague  from  America,  South  Africa,  and  Australasia  until  the  occur- 
rence of  a  single  importation  of  disease,  and  its  deadly  prevalence  in 
all  ihree  froui  that  moment  onward,  notwithstanding  that  in  the  two  last- 
named  places  the  victims  enjoyed  an  open-air  life  in  mild  and  equa- 
ble climate,  the  most  favorable  possible  for  the  lungs.  He  further  ig- 
nores for  the  instant  the  irregular  and  occult  cases  of  the  disease  which 
confer  immunity,  and  at  once  explains  the  sudden  disappearance  of  the 
disease  in  i)articular  herds  coincidently  with  a  better  hygiene  or  a  worse 
one,  and  the  introduction  of  infection  into  a  new  locality  where  the  best 
eflbrts  of  the  veterinarians  have  failed  to  trace  its  source. 

Degive  strongly  advocates  inoculation,  supporting  his  view  by  the 
following  facts  : 

1.  Oat  of  6,700  inoculated  cattle  placed  in  the  same  pathogenic  con- 
ditions as  2,453  non-inoculated  ones,  182  only,  or  about  2.71  per  cent, 
among  the  first,  and  660,  or  26.90  per  cent,  among  the  second  have  con- 
tracted lung  plague. 

2.  Out  of  68  previously  inoculated  in  the  tail  or  by  intravenous  in- 
jection, and  in  which  a  second  inoculation  was  practiced  in  a  region 
rich  in  connective  tissue  (a  deadly  region),  61  have  shown  no  local  re- 
action, and  5  j)resented  a  slight  intlammatory  swelling,  which  in  6  beasts 
inoculated  for  the  first  time  in  the  same  dangerous  regions,  as  test  cases, 
all  had  an  extensive  iutiaininatory  engorgement  ending  in  death.  Oat 
of  6  animals  inoculated  b^'  intravenous  injection  in  the  jugular  and 
afterward  subjected  to  17  inoculations  in  the  space  of  16  mouths,  4 
proved  unaffected,  13  had  slight  inflammatory  reaction,  and  1  only  had  a 
considerable  engorgement  which  did  not  jirove  fatal. 

The  immunity  secured  by  inoculation  has  lasted  four  and  five 
years,  as  observed  by  Ziegenbeiu,  in  animals  constantly  exposed  to  in- 
fection, and  for  one  year  in  16  test  cases  in  the  experiments  of  the 
Central  Society  of  Veterinary  Medicine  of  Paris. 

The  drawbacks  to  the  operation  are  : 

1.  All  the  inoculated  do  not  acquire  a  perfect  immunity. 

2.  Inoculation  preserves  and  spreads  the  poison. 

3.  A  certain  small  proportion  die  from  the  extensive  swellings  and 
gangrene  conseciuent  on  the  inoculation. 

That  all  the  inoculated  are  not  protected  is  shown  in  the  above  sta- 
tistics ;  some  highly  susceptible  animals  still  contract  the  disease  as 
some  men  contract  small-pox  after  vaccination.     To  secure  a  better  im- 


138  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

muuitj  it  is  advised  to  make  more  careful  selection  of  the  virus  from 
a  lung  enjjor.ii'ed  yellow  and  already  slightly  fibrinous,  or  from  tlie  snb- 
cutaneous  connective  tissue  in  an  inoculated  region  rich  in  that  tissue,  to 
repeat  the  operation  after  a  certain  lapse  of  time,  as  advised  by  Willems, 
and  with  weakened  virus  to  inoculate  in  a  region  rich  in  connective  tissue. 
This,  it  is  claimed,  can  be  done  safely  with  virus  which  has  been  kept  six 
weeks  in  a  hermetically  sealed  tube  (Pastenr),  or  with  what  has  been 
cultivated  for  a  length  of  time  in  flasks  in  a  special  manner  (Bruylants 
and  Verriest).  Virus  diluted  with  50,  100,  and  500  times  its  amount  of 
inert  liquid  still  remained  dangerous.  (Vaudermies:  Central  Society 
of  Veterinary  Medicine,  Paris.) 

The  danger  of  the  propagation  of  the  disease  by  inoculation  is  really 
very  slight.  Yet  he  acknowledges  the  presence  of  the  virulent  micro- 
coccus in  the  inoculation  exudate,  and  advocates  inoculation  as  a  means 
of  procuring  pure  virus  for  further  protective  inoculation. 

To  obviate  the  slight  danger  of  lung  infection  through  inoculation  he 
advocates  the  nse  of  attenuated  virus  {a  la  Pasteur,  or  a  Ics  Bruylants 
et  Verriest)  and  the  intravenous  injection  of  the  virus  pure  or  attenu- 
ated. (It  is  to  be  noted  that  an  absolute  immunity  is  not  claimed  for 
any  method,  nor  an  absolute  protection  againat  the  propagation  of  the  dis- 
ease by  the  inoculated ;  the  claim  is  that  these  may  be  reduced  to  a  very 
small  figure.  It  follows  that  the  protective  inoculation  is  a  measure  of 
repression,  not  extinction.!  and  to  a  case  like  ours,  where  a  prompt  stamp- 
ing out  is  imperative,  it  is  (piite  inapplicable.)  This  is  the  more  evident 
from  Degive's  opinion  that  "all  inoculated  animals  are  to  be  regarded 
as  suspected  of  infectipn,  and  treated  as  such,  and  that  after  the  com- 
])letion  of  the  operation  all  virulent  products  should  be  thoroughly  de- 
stroyed or  buried." 

To  obviate  losses  from  inoculation  he  i)articularly  advises  the  use  of 
attenuated  virus  or  intravenous  injection,  and  to  avoid  the  operation 
during  hot  and  rainy  seasons. 

For  the  destruction  of  the  poison  it  is  necessary  to  attend  to  all  fodder 
(which  has  remained  infecting  for  3,  4,  and  even  9  months),  all  articles 
about  the  stables,  or  suspected  cattle,  all  other  animals  (not  bovine) 
that  have  cohabited  with  them,  all  places  (buildings,  &c.)  where  they 
have  been,  all  vehicles  used  for  their  conveyance  or  that  of  their  prod- 
ucts, and  all  persons  that  have  come  near  them  or  the  infected  places. 
The  infected  herd,  the  carcasses,  and  fresh  products  must  receive,  of 
course,  the  lirst  attention.  Thorough  destruction  or  disinfection  of  all 
these  is  absolutely  essential. 

As  the  discovery  of  iufection  is  the  corner-stone  of  success,  it  must 
be  made  obligatory  on  all  owners  and  attendants  on  cattle,  on  all  veter- 
inarians and  inspectors  of  abattoirs  and  meat  markets,  to  promi)tly  re- 
port all  cases  of  the  disease,  under  a  heavy  penalty  for  disobedience  and 
for  the  owner  a  liberal  indemnity  for  cattle  and  objects  destroyed. 

At  his  visit  the  official  veterinarian  must  note  the  animals  sick  and 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        139 

exposed,  the  source  of  the  infection,  what  objects  have  become  in- 
fected, what  persons  and  animals  may  become  vehicles  of  the  virus,  and 
what  measures  (especially  isolation  and  killiug)  are  required. 

Inspection  of  fairs,  markets,  and  herds  in  an  infected  district,  and  vijsit, 
every  fortnight,  of  large  stables,  then  having  frequent  changes,  and  those 
those  that  have  been  infected,  are  requisite. 

Slavghter  should  be  resorted  to  for  the  sick  aud  all  suspected  of  dis- 
ease, no  treatment  being  permitted.  Eecovered  animals  should  in  all 
cases  be  used  for  meat  only.  All  slaughter  of  subjects  out  of  an  in- 
fected herd  should  be  in  the  presence  of  as  few  persons  as  possible  and 
under  the  inspection  of  a  veterinarian.  The  aninnils  suspected  of  being 
infected  should  be  inoculated.  (The  provision  against  treatment  shoidd 
also  preclude  inoculation  if  extinction  of  the  disease  is  desired.) 

For  indemnity  as  a  means  of  securing  early  rei)orts  he  advocates,  at 
least  one-half  the  sound  value  for  beasts  suspected,  yet  fit  for  human 
consumption,  and  at  least  three-fourths  the  sound  value  for  those  that 
are  diseased  and  unlit  for  food.  Better  still  to  completely  extirpate  the 
infected  herd  and  indemnify  to  the  extent  of  the  full  value,  as  in  Holland 
and  England;  the  state  to  retain  in  such  a  case  all  proceeds  from  tlesh 
and  hide. 

Under  isolation  come :  {a)  Se([Hestrat?on  in  a  particular  place  near  which 
no  other  cattle  nor  other  animals  are  allowed. 

[b)  Cantonnement  or  parl-aeje  in  a  secluded  place  inclosed  by  walls, 
hedges,  barriers,  palisades  or  water,  aud  safely  apart  from  roads,  [)arks, 
«S:c.,  frequented  by  other  stock. 

(c)  Sanitary  zones  or  circles,  including  a  part  or  whole  of  a  village  or 
commune  or  several  communes,  separated  from  all  communication  with 
outside  districts. 

[d)  Census  and  marliing  are  essential  to  a  perfect  control  of  such 
secluded  places. 

(e)  Prohibition  of  morement  of  all  sick  and  suspected  animals  is  abso 
lutely  essential.  Under  special  precautions  fat  cattle  may  be  moved 
in  closed  wagons  to  slaughter,  and  work-oxen  may  be  utilized  on  certain 
prescribed  fields  if  there  is  no  danger  of  communication  with  other 
cattle,  direct  or  indirect;  no  cattle  should  be  exposed  for  sale  anywhere 
without  an  official  certificate  that  no  epizootic  has  existed  for  six  weeks 
or  more  in  the  commune  from  which  they  were  drawn. 

(/)  Suspension  of  fdrs  and  marlcets  is  only  demanded  when  the  lung 
plague  has  attained  to  an  extensive  prevalence. 

(//)  Importation  of  cattle  should  be  interdicted  from  any  infected  country 
unless  they  are  accompanied  by  a  certificate  of  Innilth  dated  six  days 
I»efore  and  showing  that  no  lung-plague  has  existed  for  at  least  six  weeks 
in  the  place  from  which  they  came.  (Such  provisions  show  the  aim  at 
restriction  rather  than  extinction  of  the  malady,  as  they  could  not  arrest 
the  occult  cases  nor  those  having  a  long  period  of  incubation. — J.  L.) 


140  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

{h)  Quarantine  of  uewly  bought  animals  for  five  or  six  weeks  is  au 
important  i)recaution. 

(/)  Posting  notices  of  infection  at  the  entrance  of  infected  zones  or 
farms. 

{])  Handhills  and  instructions  for  tbe  people  in  or  near  the  infected 
area. 

(A)  Surveillance  with  verj*  frequent  visitatiou  by  ipspectors  and  police. 

Preventive  medication  for  animals  exposed  to  infection  may  embrace 
setons  medicated  with  hellebore,  and  antiseptics,  such  as  ferric  sulphate, 
alkaline  sulphites,  carbolic  acid,  borax,  tar,  chlorine. 

All  restrictions  may  be  removed  forty  days  after  the  last  case  of  disease 
has  been  disposed  of  and  the  place  and  objects  disinfected.  (This  is  en- 
tirely inconsistent  with  what  he  has  already  advanced  as  to  occult  cases, 
chronic  cases,  and  long  periods  of  incubation  which  could  so  easily  ex- 
ceed twice  the  forty  days  required.  It  is  another  iudication  of  an  aim 
at  restriction  rather  than  extinction.) — J.  L. 

If  carcasses  have  to  be  removed,  this  should  be  done  in  wagons  with 
close  joints,  so  that  nothing  shall  escape,  and  drawn  by  horses  under 
police  supervision.  The  carcass  and  diseased  products  may  be  deeply 
buried,  burned,  rendered,  or  dissolved  in  sulphuric  acid.  It  is  often 
utilized  for  food,  but  this  should  be  prohibited  when  the  lung  lesions 
are  very  extensive,  advanced,  and  comi)licated  by  gangrene,  when  there 
is  ulceration  of  the  bowels,  or  when  the  tlesh  is  flaccid,  decolorized, 
ecchymosed,  or  the  seat  of  serous  infiltration.  The  sldn  ma^"  be  sent  to 
the  tannery  after  steeping  a  length  of  time  in  milk  of  lime,  or  solution 
of  chloride  of  lime,  or  zinc,  or  carbolic  acid. 

Disinfection  of  stables  demands  washing,  scraping,  and  the  thorough 
application  of  liquid  disinfectants.  Manure,  fodder,  and  litter  should 
be  burned  or  disinfected,  or  the  latter  may  be  fed  to  horses.  Horses 
and  other  animals  that  have  been  with'diseased  cattle  should  have  their 
surface  cleaned  and  disinfected  by  an  antiseptic  solution. 

LEBLANC'S    VIEWS. 

Leblanc  sought  to  throw  doubt  on  the  diagnosis  of  lung  plague  dur- 
ing life,  on  the  specific  character  of  the  lesions  seen  in  the  carcass,  and 
on  the  value  of  inoculation.  Many  inoculated  animals  have  already  had 
the  disease  and  are  protected  by  that ;  cases  already  infected  before 
inoculation  have  the  disease  aggravated  by  the  operation  ;  the  poison, 
and  therefore  the  disease,  is  preserved  and  perpetuated  in  certain  dis- 
tricts by  the  i)ractice  of  inoculation  ;  inoculation  is  no  certain  prophy- 
lactic, for  just  as  in  the  same  lung  we  see  chronic  lesions  side  by  side 
with  the  acute,  implying  a  second  attack,  so  may  an  attack  follow  a 
successful  ino(udation :  and  finally,  the  same  measures  of  se<;regation 
and  slaughter  usually  employed  with  inoculation  would  be  successful 
Avithout  that  operation. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS  141 

PUTZ'S   VIEWS. 

Piitz  does  not  hesitate  to  prououuce  the  physiological  symptoms 
and  pathological  lesions  as  together  reasonably  pathognomic.  He  is  a 
strong  partisan  of  inoculation,  provided  the  operation  is  relocated  after 
a  lapse  of  time,  and  above  all  if  repeated  again  and  again.  It  is  use- 
less or  injurious  for  animals  that  are  already  infected,  and  the  duration 
of  the  immunity  acquired  in  successful  cases  varies  with  the  individual 
susceptibility,  as  does  vaccination  for  the  prevention  of  small-pox.  It 
is  especially  valuable  in  places  where  movements  of  great  numbers  of 
cattle  are  continually  going  on,  and  where  sequestration  is  in  conse- 
quence imi)ossible.  Where,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  few  move- 
ments of  stock  the  isolation  and  slaughter  of  the  diseased  and  strongly 
suspected  beasts  is  speedily  effective.  In  Holland  with  inoculation  the 
disease  has  been  confined  to  the  narrowest  limits,  while  in  most  i)artsof 
Germany  it  has  been  stationary  or  increasing,  and  in  Saxony  with  little 
inoculation  it  has  in  recent  years  attacked  three  times  the  number  of 
victims  seized  in  i87o-'76. 

In  addition  to  the  measnres  of  sequestration  he  advocates  :  1.  That 
the  quarantine  mark  should  bear  the  year  so  that  it  may  be  afterward 
known  when  they  were  diseased  or  suspected.  2.  That  all  diseased  ^ud 
strongly  suspected  animals  should  be  killed,  and  that  the  entire  herd 
should  be  slaughtered  when  judged  necessary,  indemnity  being  granted 
for  the  same.  3.  When,  owing  to  freipient  changes  in  a  large  herd,  or 
when,  from  economical  considerations  such  herd  may  not  be  slaughtered, 
the  same  should  be  compulsorily  inoculated.  Inoculation  maj*  be  au- 
thorized in  an  infected  country,  if  desired,  bj*  the  proprietor,  and  conse- 
quent losses  should  be  paid  for.  4.  Every  beast  from  a  quarantined 
herd  which  dies  or  is  killed  ought  to  be  the  subject  of  an  autopsy  by  a 
competent  person.  With  this  precaution  such  cattle  should  be  devoted 
to  slaughter  for  beef  as  much  as  possible,  no  necessary  precaution  being 
forgotten. 

ACTION   OF   THE    CONGKESS. 

A. — Diagnosis. 

The  question  of  diagnosis  of  lung  plague  gave  rise  to  a  somewhat  lengthy, 
animated,  and  fruitless  discussion  as  to  whether  this  disease  can  arisespon- 
taneoush/,  or  whether  it  is  ercryivhere  a>t<l  alicai/s  the  resnlt  of  contafiion. 
The  advocates  of  a  spontaneous  origin  of  the  disease  acknowledged  ^hat 
the  occurrence  of  a  spontaneous  case  was  extremely  rare,  and  that  in 
spite  of  spontaneous  cases  a  s^'Stem  of  repression,  based  on  a  constant 
assumption  of  contagion,  was  the  best ;  yet  they  claimed,  as  already 
stated  of  Degive,  that  the  malady  may  originate  by  the  transformation 
of  harmless  germs  into  virulent  ones,  or  it  may  be  by  the  transformation 
of  normal  histological  elements  of  the  body  into  diseased  elements 
having  a  power  of  propagating  themselves  indefinitely.    The  opponents, 


142  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OK    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

ou  the  other  hand,  held  that  the  iiou-appearauce  of  this  disease  in  his- 
toric time,  in  any  country  in  which  it  had  not  previously  existed, 
unless  in  cases  where  its  introduction  could  be  clearly  traced  to  the  im- 
portation of  a  diseased  animal  or  its  products,  and  its  continued  absence 
from  all  countries  into  which  no  such  importation  had  been  made  im. 
plied,  unequivocally,  that  the  assumed  cases  of  spontaneity  were  also 
cases  of  infection,  tliough  investigation  had  failed  to  show  the  precise 
channel  by  which  the  germs  had  been  introduced.  A  comparison  of 
the  nationalities  of  the  advocates  of  spontaneity  and  against  it  is  very 
instructive  as  showing  that  the  believers  in  spontaneity  are  those  whose 
experience  has  been  gained  at  the  termini  of  the  cattle  traffic  from 
Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  at  points  (Belgium,  France),  in  short,  where 
the  infection  of  lung  plague  is  being  constantlj'  imported,  and  from 
which  it  is  never  entirely  absent,  whereas  the  disbelievers  in  spontaneity 
are  mainly  from  countries  (England,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Roumania, 
America,  &c.),  in  which  lung  plague  has  been  stamped  out,  or  into  which 
it  has  been  first  introduced  in  recent  times  by  a  well-attested  importa- 
tion of  disease,  and  v.here  its  area  of  prevalence  is  sharply  limited  to 
places  infected  through  such  importations. 

This  well  illustrates  the  predominating  influence  of  the  immediate 
surroundings.  Had  the  able  advocates  of  spontaneity  lived  in  Spain 
or  Portugal,  where  herds  abound,  but  to  which  the  lung  plague  has 
never  penetrated,  or  in  Scandinavia,  where  its  occasional  importations 
have  been  as  persistently  stamped  out ;  or  in  Switzerland,  the  imme- 
morial home  of  the  plague,  but  from  which  it  has  been  expelled;  or  in 
England,  which  it  respected  until  it  was  imported  in  1839  and  where 
it  has  prevailed  ever  since,  but  still  spares  the  exclusively  breeding 
districts;  or  in  the  United  States,  where  it  was  imported  in  1848  and 
]851>,  and  where  it  was  effectually  stamped  out  in  the  fenced  farms  of 
New  England  but  continues  to  prevail  through  the  constant  changes 
and  successive  infections  in  the  city  dairies  of  the  Middle  Atlantic 
States,  and  finally  where  the  whole  West  and  South  maintains  a  per- 
fect immunity ;  or  in  South  Africa  or  Australasia,  where  the  disease 
long  unknown,  has  spread  from  single  importations  and  from  the  con- 
stant mingling  of  herds  maintains  an  universal  i)revaleuce  ;  or,  finally, 
in  Canada,  Newfoundland,  Mexico,  or  South  America,  to  which  the 
plague  has  not  yet  been  iniported  and  where,  as  in  the  exclusively 
breeding  districts  of  infected  countries,  no  spontaneous  case  has  ever 
occurred  to  start  it  on  its  desolating  career,  they  would  have  realized 
that  they  were  advocating  a  mere  phantom  danger  and  that  the  plague 
which  has  failed  to  appear  in  historic  time  in  a  country  not  already  in. 
I'ected  from  without  may  safely  be  trusted  not  to  appear  in  the  future 
with  such  exotic  contagion.  They  would  no  more  argue  from  the  first 
case  of  the  plague  than  the  botanist  would  argue  from  the  first  oak  that 
oaks  must  now  appear  without  seed  or  slips  j  they  would  accept  the 
unvarying  testimony  from  all  parts  of  the  inhabited  earth  which  are 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         143 

not  yet  infected  or  which  have  been  infected  iu  historic  time  that  every 

exteii?>iou  of  this  plague  has  been  by  contagion  and  by  contagion  alone. 

On  motion  of  Wirz  the  following  was  adopted  as  the  first  resolution: 

1.  From  an  anatomical  point  of  view,  at  least  in  its  relation  to  veterinary  police, 
every  pneumonia  (of  cattle)  wliicli  is  lobular  and  at  the  same  time  interlobular,  and 
the  development  of  which  does  not  depend  on  traumatic  local  causes,  should  be  con- 
sidered as  epizootic  contagions  pleuro-pneumonia. 

The  second  resolution  was  modified  by  adding  the  word  contagious,  so 
that  it  might  read  : 

2.  From  a  physiological  stand-point,  epizootic  contagious  pleuro-pneumonia  is  spe. 
cially  characterized,  in  the  liviug  animal,  by  the  contagious  character  and  by  the 
symptoms  of  lobar-pneumonia. 

To  the  third  resolution  the  following  wording  was  given  : 

3.  There  ought  to  be  considered  as — 

(a)  Suspected  of  epizootic  contagious  pleuro-pneumonia  every  animal  which  in 
an  infected  place  manifests  symptoms  of  fever  or  of  disease  of  the  chest. 

(b)  Suspected  of  contamination  every  animal  fouud  iu  an  infected  stable,  or  which 
has  been  in  one  withiu  three  mouths,  or  which  has  been  exposed  to  infection  in  any 
other  way. 

The  fourth  resolution  was  suppressed  on  motion  of  Lydtin  and  Wirz. 

B. — Prophylaxis. 

On  motion  of  Zundel  and  Lydtin  the  congress  decided  to  take  up  first 
the  question  of  stamping  out. 

On  motion  of  the  same,  Article  2  was  modified  and  finally  passed  so  as 
to  read  as  follows : 

2.  Recognizing  that  from  the  point  of  view  of  sanitary  police  epizootic  pleuro- 
pueumouia  propagates  itself  only  by  contagion,  and  is  usually  incurable  and  fatal, 
this  congress  declares  that  animals  atfected  by  the  malady  or  suspected  of  it  should 
be  sacrificed  as  quickly  as  ijossible. 

The  third  article  was  adopted  with  the  single  change  of  substituting 
contaminated  for  suspected  of  contamination  or  very  much  exposed  to 
contagion,  the  word  retaining  the  idea  of  exposed  to  contagion.  It 
read  thus  : 

3.  Contaminated  animals  should  be  isolated  or  sacrificed.  The  slaughter  of  con- 
taminated animals  is  especially  indicated  when  the  disease  manifests  itself  very  ex- 
ceptionally or  for  the  first  time  iu  a  stable  belonging  to  a  commune  rich  in  cattle. 

On  the  question  of  the  value  of  inoculation  as  a  preventive,  much 
discussion  ensued,  the  great  majority,  however,  according  to  it  the 
power  of  protection  to  a  certain  extent.  A  number,  however,  of  these 
last,  and  especially  those  who  like  Berdez  (Switzerland),  Law  (Xew 
York),  and  others  had  had  a  favorable  exiierience  of  stamping  out,  dep- 
recattd  inoculation  iu  any  country  where  it  was  ])()ssible  to  promptly 
extirpate  the  plague  by  the  radical  measures  of  slaughter  and  disinfec- 
tion. Wirz  reported  that  of  the  182,308  cattle  inoculated  iu  Holland, 
in  the  past  four  years  (1878-1882)  the  losses  from  the  o[)eration  had  been 
under  1  per  cent.,  and  the  protection  had  been  satisfactory.  Law  re- 
peated the  inoculation  of  10  cattle  with  sterilized  virus  which  obivatod 


144         CONTAGIOUS    DISEAIES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  danger  of  infection  from  the  inoculated,  and  which,  in  a  six-raouth's 
test,  by  inoculation  with  attested  virulent  lymph,  and  by  residence  in 
infected  herds,  had  proved  perfectly  satisfactory.  Willem's  proposition 
that  "  all  scientirtc  interpretations  being  reserved  no  fact  in  practice  has 
proved  the  contamination  of  a  healthy  by  an  inoculated  animal"  was 
voted  down,  and  the  following  of  Potteral  adopted  : 

There  is  no  proof  that  an  inocnlat(Hl  auiinal  cannot  transmit  the  disease  to  a 
healthy  one. 

The  following,  moved  by  Bouley,  was  adopted  : 

3.  We  have  to-day  experimental  proof  that  it  is  possible  to  invest  the  organism  of 
animals  of  the  bovine  species  with  an  immunity  from  contagious  pleuro-pueuiuonia 
b}-  inoculation  with  the  vims  of  this  malady. 

Two  applications  of  inoculation  were  recognized — preventive  inocula- 
tion (inoculation  in  the  absence  of  the  disease),  and  inoculation  of  neces- 
sity, (inoculation  of  animals  dangerously  exposed  to  infection).  As  an 
amendment  to  Article  4  the  following  was  passed : 

4.  Pieveutive  inoculation,  that  is  to  say,  that  which  is  practiced  where  the  malady 
does  not  prevail  in  a  country,  ought  to  be  absolutely  rejected  ;  inoculation,  so  called, 
of  necessity,  that  is  to  say,  th.at  which  is  practiced  when  the  malady  exists  in  a  herd, 
may  be  permitted,  but  not  made  obligatory. 

On  the  motion  of  Wirz,  Article  5  was  stricken  out ;  Article  G  was 
modified  so  as  to  read  : 

6.  The  inoculation  should  always  he  done  bj-  a  veterinarian. 

Article  7  was  dropped. 

On  Degive's  motion  Article  8  was  altered  to — 

8.  Inoculated  animals  should  be  reported  to  the  authorities. 

Articles  9  to  13,  inclusive,  were  not  called  in  question.     On  motion  of 

Miiller  the  following  was  adopted  : 

14.  The  duration  of  quarantine  should  be  six  months  at  least  after  the  disap])eaianco 
of  the  disease. 

Articles  lo  to  10,  inclusive,  were  not  objected  to. 

On  motiou  of  Lydtin,  Miiller,  aud  Potteral,  Article  20  was  altered  as 

follows  : 

20.  A  stable  shouhl  not  be  used  again  for  animals  until  it  has  been  completely  evacu- 
ated aud  properly  disinfected,  and  then  ))uritied  by  eight  days'  exposure  to  free  ven  - 
tilation. 

On  motion  of  Bouley  and  Anne,  Article  21  was  altered  as  follows  : 

21.  Pastures  that  have  been  frequented  by  diseased  animals  ought  to  be  ijnaran- 
tined  for  at  least  tifteen  days. 

Articles  22  to  24,  inclusive,  were  passed. 

On  motion  of  Quivogne,  Potteral,  and  Lydtin,  Article  25  was  modified 
as  follows: 

25.  It  is  proper  to  grant  an  indemnity  to  owners  for  animals  sacrificed  by  ofticial 
order,  and  for  the  expense  of  disinfection.  The  indemnity  should  amount  to  four-tifths 
of  the  value  of  the  animals;  and  to  the  full  value,  deduction  being  made  of  the  value 
of  portions  of  the  carcass  th.at  can  be  utilizeil  if  the  animal  should  prove  healthy. 

Articles  2G  to  28  were  adopted  without  (juestion. 


! 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         145 
REMARKS. 

Without  seeking  to  detract  from  the  importance  of  any  one  position 
taken  by  the  congress,  it  may  still  be  well  to  emphasize  some  that  have 
a  special  value  to  the  American  statesman. 

1.  The  extension  of  the  incubation  of  lung-])lague  for  months,  and  the 
frequent  occurrence  of  occult  and  unrecognized  cases  of  the  disease 
show  how  essential  it  is  to  stop  all  movement  of  animals  in  infected  dis- 
tricts, except  under  license,  after  an  extended  supervision,  including 
statistics  constantly  corrected;  also  to  kill  out  an  entire  infected  herd, 
or  to  maintain  the  above-named  strict  supervision  for  a  long  period  (six 
months) ;  also,  to  prohibit  the  contact  of  adjacent  herds  in  neighboring 
parks,  &c.,  and  their  successive  presence  in  the  same  pastures,  on  the 
same  roads,  or  at  the  same  drinking  troughs.  These  dangers  are  just 
those  of  which  it  has  been  most  difficult  to  persuade  our  United  States 
legislators  and  our  non-veterinary  administrators  of  State  sanitary  laws, 
and  on  the  fundamental  blunders  made  on  these  points  de})end  our  fail- 
ure hitherto  to  extirpate  lung-plague. 

2.  The  idea  of  the  spontaneous  origin  of  lnng-i)lague  in  the  present 
day  is  effectually  set  aside.  An  abiding  confidence  in  our  i)erfect  se- 
curity from  this  disease  apart  from  imported  virus  is  essential  to  thor- 
ough work.  Whenever  the  possibility  of  spontaneous  cases  is  admitted 
this  will  be  made  a  cloak  for  slovenly  and  ineffective  work. 

3.  The  voice  of  the  representative  veterinarians  of  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica has  been  given  against  the  assumption  that  inoculated  animals  can- 
not infect  a  sound  animal.  This  is  a  decision  of  no  small  importance 
as  *.'is  operation  of  inoculation  is  extensively  pra(;tice(l  among  us,  and 
thouih  it  enables  the  individual  owner  when  left  to  his  own  resources  to 
save  the  great  body  of  his  herd,  yet  when  the  state  undertakes  to  stamp 
out  the  plague,  its  practice  becomes  a  serious  hindrance  by  increasing 
and  diffusing  the  virus. 

4.  In  spite  of  the  difficulty  or  iujpossibility  of  controlling  the  enor. 
mous  cattle  traffic  which  is  constantly  flowing  westward  through  the 
center  of  Europe,  and  the  consequent  temptation  to  adopt  measures  of 
repression  and  restriction  rather  than  those  of  extinction,  the  congress 
declares  strongly  in  favor  of  the  instant  slaughter  of  all  diseased  ani. 
mals  and  of  those  suspected  of  disease.  How  mu(;h  more  should  we 
who  have  to  deal  with  but  a  mere  patch  of  insix'ction  relatively  to  our 
territory  promptly  destroy  ever}'  animal  and  every  herd  in  which  infec- 
tion is  found  ? 

5.  Even  in  Europe  the  veterinary  sanitary  authorities  feel  that  action 
by  isolated  states  aiming  at  the  suppression  or  extinction  of  lung-plague 
is  wofully  ineffective,  and  they  demand  that  the  veterinary  sanitary 
police  administration  shall  overstep  the  national  boundaries  and  be 
made  continental,,  to  the  extent  that  the  different  nations  shall  agree 
upon  a  uniform  law,  under  which  the  disease  shall  be  promptly  stam})edout 

5751  D  A 10 


146  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

or  honorably  and  efFectually  sluit  up  in  any  district  where  it  may  appear^ 
so  that  an  official  certificate  may  give  an  absolute  guarantee  of  sound- 
ness. How  much  more  should  the  United  States,  bound  into  one  na- 
tion and  having'  one  common  Federal  legislative  body,  and  one  Federal 
administration,  arrange  for  a  single  law  on  th's  subject  for  all  the  States 
and  Territories  and  for  its  uniform  aduiinistration,  whether  tlirough 
State  or  national  officials?  Hitherto  the  varying  laws  in  different 
States  have  been  a  source  of  constant  uncertainty,  trouble,  and  loss  to 
dealers,  and  yet  no  certain  guarantee  against  the  extension  of  the 
plague  from  State  to  State. 

6.  In  dealing  with  an  insidious  affi?ction  like  lung-plague  the  veter- 
inary profession  in  Europe  realize  the  necessity  of  ad()[)ting  every  means^ 
calculated  to  secure  information  of  outbreaics,  and  the  restriction  of 
surreptitious  movemeiirs  of  animals;  they  accordingly  declare  in  favor 
of  indemnity  to  four-dfths  of  the  sound  value  for  sick  cattle  sacrificed 
and  the  full  value  for  cattle  exposed  to  infection  but  not  yet  diseased 
and  also  for  heavy  penalties  for  all  failures  to  con)i)ly  with  the  law.  In 
our  own  State  of  Pennsylvania,  infected  herds  have  been  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  the  State,  and  all  that  subsequently  sickened  have  been  paid 
for  at  full  appraised  value,  with  results  incomparably  better  than  where 
the  law  has  been  to  give  small  indemnities  and  imjjose  large  penalties. 
Our  legislators  should  realize  from  this  combined  experience  of  Europe 
and  America  that  niggardly  indemnities  mean  concealment,  smuggling,. 
and  extension  of  the  disease,  while  with  liberal  remuneration  for  the 
cattle  taken  the  disease  may  be  stamped  out  at  a  mere  fraction  of  the 
outlay  that  would  otherwise  be  necessary.  In  city  dairies,  where  most 
of  our  lung-plague  is  to  be  found,  the  full  value  of  the  animals  killed  is 
far  from  compensating  the  owner  for  the  interruption  of  his  business 
until  his  herd  and  stables  can  be  i)ronounced  sound,  i^o  economy  is 
more  false  than  tluit  which  saves  on  the  payment  for  infected  cattle 
slaughtered  at  the  expense  of  concealment  and  surrei>titious  diffusion 
of  the  disease. 

3.  EDUCATION  IN  VETEEINAKY  MEDICINE. 

This  subject  was  introduced  by  two  separate  reports — one  by  Hngues,. 
of  Brussels,  the  other  by  Professor  Wirz,  of  Utrecht,  and^liiller,  of 
]>crlin. 

nUGUKS'    REPOKT. 

A. — Education  in  veterinary  medicine  and  the  social  position  of  the  veterinarian 
demand  a  tliorough  preliminary  instruction  correspondinj;  to  the  classes  in  humanity 
or  the  com]>lete  professional  ones. 

li. — Education  in  veterinary  meiliciiio  should  be  theoretical,  scientific,  practical, 
experimental,  and  educational,  in  giving  lo  eacli  of  tlicsej  the  rclative^j'mpt  rtnnce^ 
wliicii  the  real  needs  of  pr.dessional  work  demands. 

To  this  end  we  nsk — 

1.  That  the  studies  si  oiild  extend  over  tive  years. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        147 

2.  That  the  exterior  of  domestic  animals  be  made  the  subject  of  au  essentially 
practical  course,  of  which  the  study  of  animal  mechanics  shall  be  the  basis. 

3.  That  there  ought  to  be  created  in  every  school  a  course  of  equitation. 

4.  That  exercises  at  the  forge  should  be  abolished. 

5.  That  tlie  course  of  special  pathology  should  he  abolished. 

6.  That  there  should  be  theoretical  and  practical  instruction  in  the  iuspectiou  of 
alimentary  matters  of  animal  origin. 

7.  That  there  should  be  at  least  two  professors  of  clinics  in  each  school. 

8.  That  a  residence  outside  the  walls  (external)  should  be  obligatory  at  least  for 
the  last  two  years  of  study. 

9.  That  a  period  of  probation  (stage)  be  imposed  as  complenu>ntary  to  the  school 
studies. 

10.  That  practitioners  should  be  made  part  of  the  exauiining  boards. 

11.  That  the  appointment  of  professors  should  be  made  on  the  double  basis  of  con- 
cours  and  of  scientific  reputation  ;  that  assistants  or  tutors  should  be  nominated  on. 
the  proposition  of  the  professional  college. 

While  we  cannot  follow  Hugiies  through  his  elaborate  report,  yet  we 
may  cull  a  few  of  the  points  made  in  fav^or  of  his  propositions. 

A  liberal  profession  is  marked  by  solidarity ;  it  is  cosmopolitan,  knows 
no  territorial  frontier,  no  nationality  ;  it  is  the  product  of  civilization^ 
and  protected  by  universal  s(;ience.  The  liberal  profession  of  medicine 
is  one;  its  methods  only  differ  according-  to  the  species  to  which  it  is 
api)lied.  The  two  profes.sions  of  medicine — human  and  veterinary — 
are  sisters,  equally  liberal,  and  demand  an  equally  extended  preliminarjT 
training  and  give  an  equal  right  to  consideration.  To  secure  this 
equality  the  education  for  the  one  must  be  as  thorough  as  for  the  other, 
alike  in  its  literary,  scientific,  and  special  features. 

Continental  Euro]>e  has  thirty-three  well-equipped  veterinary-  schooIs^, 
each  a  Government  institution,  controlled  and  supported  by  tlie  state. 
Great  Britain  has  four  veterinary  schools,  none  of  which  is  under  state 
sui)i)ort  nor  control  aside  from  the  charters  under  which  they  are  main- 
tained. In  England  and  Austria  the  course  of  study  extends  over  three 
years;  in  Germany  and  Switzerland,  three  years  and  a  half;  in  France, 
Belgium,  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Russia,  and  Italy,  four  years;  and 
in  Koumania,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  live  years. 

As  an  example  of  the  curriculum,  that  of  the  Brussels  school  will  alone 
be  given. 

VBTERINARV    SCHOOL    OF   BRUSSELS. 

FIUST  YEAK— WINTER    SEMESTER. 

Descriptive  anatomy,  lA  hour  i)er  week.  Botany,  :?  hours. 

Dissections,  9  hours.  Examination  in  chemistry  or  physics,  li 

Tuition  in  chemistry  or  physics,  labours.  hour. 

Lectures  in  chemistry  or  physics,  4t^  hours. 

SU.MMEU   SEMESTER. 
Botany,  4^  hours.  Zoology,  3  hours. 

Botanical  ex<iii>.iou.  Tuition  in  descriptive  an:itomy,  l.J  hour 

Tuition  in  bouuiy,  li  hour.  daily. 

Chemi.stry  or  physics,  4*  hours.  Exauiiuatiou  in  chouiistiy  or  physics,  1^ 

Tuition  in  chemistry  or  physics,  IJ  houi'.  hour. 


148  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


SKCONI>    YEAR — WINTER   SEJIKSTKR. 


Tuition  in  cliemistry,  1^  hour. 
Tuition  in  physics,  1|  hour. 
Exaiuination  iu  eheuiistry  or  physics,  1^ 

hour. 
Gent' nil  anatomy  aucVphysiolopiy,  4^  hours. 
Tuition, general  anatomy  audphy.siology, 

li  hour. 


Descriptive  anatomy,  3  hours. 
Dissections  or  exercises  in  histology,  4^ 

hours. 
Dissections,  15  hours. 
Physics  or  chemistry,  4i  hours. 
Comparative  anatomy,  If  hour. 


SUMMER   SEMESTER. 


Tuition  in  physics  or  chemistry,  1|  hour. 
Tuition  in  chemistry,  H  hour.     ^ 
Tuition  iu  general  anatomy  or  physiology, 

U  hour. 
Work  iu  histology,  4^  hours. 
Physics  or  chemistry,  4i  hours. 
General  anatomy  and  physiology,  4^  hours. 


THIRD  YEAR- 


Comparative  anatoiuy,  ]|  hour. 

Tuition  iu  comparative  aiuitomy,  1  i  hour 

every  15  days. 
Work  at  the  forge  {marechaUrie)'^  hours. 
Examination  on  chemistry  or  physics,  \\ 

hour. 


-WINTER   SEMESTER. 

Clinics,  2  hours  daily. 

Pharmacology,  3  hours  weekly. 

Tuition  in  geueral  anatomy  and  physiol- 
ogy, li  hour. 

Theory  of  shoeing,  U  hour. 

General  pathology,  and  special  and  pa- 
thological anatomy,  4^  hours. 

Tuition  in  general  and  special  pathology, 
and  pathological  anatomy,  H  hour. 


Exercises  inoperative  medicine  (surgery), 

3  hours. 
Exterior  (form),  3  hours. 
Tuition    on   exterior,    1^  hour    every   15 

days. 
Special    therapeutics  and  pharuiaco-dy- 

namics,  3  hours. 
Topographical  anatomy,  1|  hour. 
Work  at  forge,  1^  hour. 


SUMMER    SEMESTER. 

Clinics,  2  hours  daily.  Pharmacology,  \\  hour. 

Operations  on  the  foot,  1^  hour  per  week.      General   therapeutics  and   pharraaco-dy- 
"■   ■        "  '■" namics,  1^  hour. 

Pharmaceutical  manipulations,   1|  hour. 

Tuition  in  geueral  pathology  and  special 


Operative  medicine,  \\  hours 

Demonstrations  in  pathological  anatomy, 
1^  hour. 

General  pathology  and  special  and  patho- 
logical anatomy,  41  hours. 

Tuition  in  clinics,  U  hour. 


pathological  anatomy,  \\  hour. 
Zootechny,  1  hour. 


FOURTH   YEAR — WINTER   SEMESTER. 


Work  at  forge,  3  hours. 

Zootechny,  \\  hour. 

Tuition  in  surgical  pathology,  1^  hour. 

Constitutional  law,  1^  hour. 

Equitation,  4  hours. 


Clinics,  2  hours  daily. 

Tuition,  clinical,  li  hour  per  week. 

Surgical  pathology,  4i  hours. 

Phannaceutieal  maiui)ulatious,  3  hours. 

Obstetrics,  U  hour. 

Practical  operative  medicine,  3  hours. 

SUMMER   SEMESTER 

Clinics,  2   hours  daily  (2  hours  weekly      Zootechuy,  3  hours. 

clinics  in  chair). 
Work  at  forge,  3^  liours. 
Pharmaceutical  manipulations,  3  hours. 
Tuition,  clinical,  H  hour. 
Medical  jurisprudencoand  sanitary  jjolicc, 

1^  hour. 
Tuition  in  surgical  pathology,  1^  hour. 


Examination  of  meats,  H  hour. 
Zootechnic  conferences,  1  liour. 
Tuition  in  zootechuy,  1^  hour. 
Equitation,  4  hours. 
Tuition    in    medical   jurisprudence 

sanitary  police,  1^  hour. 
Constitutional  law,  li  hour. 


and 


* 


i.! 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OP    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        149 

Others  of  the  schools,  and  uotably  those  of  France,  give  iustrnctiou 
in  modern  languages  and  literature,  which  Ungues  holds  should  be 
obtained  before  enteriug  the  veterinary  S(;hool,  To  further  reHeve  the 
curriculum  and  give  more  time  to  the  exclusively  professional  studies, 
he  would  abolish  the  class  on  constitutional  law,  that  on  shoeing,  and 
even  that  on  special  pathology  as  taught  from  the  chair,  thus  throwing 
the  student  back  on  books  and  clinical  teacliing  for  instruction  in  the 
practice  of  medicine.  The  need  ot  some  rebef  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  students  to-day  exceed  the  allotted  period 
of  study  preliminary  to  taking  a  degree.  Thus  at  Brussels  in  former 
times  a  failure  to  pass  in  four  years  was  altogether  exceptional,  while 
under  the  modern  crowding  of  studies  but  33  out  of  77  students  have 
passed  in  this  prescribed  period ;  of  the  remaining  44  students  20  took 
live  years,  20  six  j'ears,  1  seven  years,  and  3  eight  ytiirs. 

The  curriculum  has  greatly  outstri[)ped  the  ability  of  the  student  to 
cope  with  it,  and  the  two  should  be  adjusted  so  that  the  majority  may 
be  able  to  graduate  in  the  prescribed  period.  Though  something  may 
be  done  in  eliminating  subjects  that  are  not  purely  professional,  yet, 
with  the  rapid  advancement  of  science,  the  exclusively  professional 
work  incumbent  on  the  student  tends  constantly  to  increase,  and  the 
strain  must  be  met  by  securing  a  better  preliminary  training,  and  by 
extending  the  curriculum  to  five  years.  Thus,  for  admission  to  the 
school,  a  knowledge  of  one  or  more  modern  languages  should  be  de- 
manded; those  of  the  adjoining  countries  being  always  valuable  as 
giving  a  rey  to  their  literature  and  as  being  essential  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  sanitary  police.  The  rudiments  of.  Latin  are  very  useful, 
but  not  indis|)ensable.  National  and  foreign  literature  have  no  occa- 
sion to  appear  in  the  curriculum,  and  should  not  be  a  condition  of  en- 
trance. So  of  mathematics  and  the  natural  sciences.  If  the  same  could 
be  applied  to  physics  and  chemistry  it  would  be  well,  but  this  would  be 
asking  too  much  of  a  boy  of  seventeen,  and  would  endanger  superticial- 
ity  in  all. 

Then. if  the  curriculum  were  extended  to  five  years,  the  present  double 
examination  might  be  profitably  extended  to  three;  the  first  in  sciences, 
the  second  as  candidate  in  veterinary  medicine,  on  anatomy,  })hysiology, 
histology,  physics,  chemistry,  and  perhai)S  the  exterior,  and  the  third 
one,  pathological  biology,  therapeutics,  surgery,  clinics,  hygiene,  zoo- 
technnics,  sanitary  i)olice,  &c. 

The  examining  boards  should  be  composed  of  the  faculty  of  the  school 
and  a  certain  i)roportion  of  veterinary  practitioners.  This  will  tend  to 
correct  any  tendency  in  the  schools  to  a  too  exclusive  attention  to  sci- 
entific minutia'  at  the  exi)ense  of  the  even  more  important  matters  of 
daily  practice,  and  give  a  special  value  and  guarantee  to  the  examina- 
tion and  diploma.  On  the  other  hand,  the  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
candidate  on  the  part  of  the  professor  will  enable  the  board  to  qualify 


150  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS, 

the  results  of  a  biinied  examiuation  by  the  record  of  five  years  of 
coutiiiuous  Avork. 

Ill  the  appointment  of  teachers  much  is  required.  The  professor 
shouhl  be  a  man  of  high  morality,  one  insi)iring-  resi)ect  and  esteem, 
who  knows  his  subject  thoroughly,  and  who  jet  can  condense  it  to  the 
<lemauds  of  tlie  case,  and  i)resent  it  clearly,  i)laiuly,  and  concisely,  yet 
in  such  a  way  as  to  engage  the  enthuvsiasin  of  his  students.  He  may  be 
a  good  professor  without  being  a  .savant,  and  he  may  be  a  real  savant 
yet  a  very  poor  professor.  To  know  and  to  teach  are  different  things. 
A  mind  quick  to  write,  subtle  in  the  analysis  of  facts,  facde  in  the  as- 
similation of  all  contemporary  progress,  a  ripe  judgment,  the  power  to 
present  the  analysis  or  synthesis  in  the  form  of  a  clear  attractive  re- 
sumt5;  these  are  the  essential  qualities,  the  role  and  mission  of  the 
professor.  He  niust  besides  have  such  a  knowledge  of  the  entire  curric- 
ulum as  will  enable  him  to  direct  his  work  parallel  to  that  of  his  col-  | 
leagues  without  exposing  himself  to  contradiction,  or  unnecessary  rep- 
etition by  another  chair.  To  successful  teaching  there  must  be  a  unity 
and  harmony  in  the  entire  field  of  work.  This  necessitates  that  every 
professor  in  a  chair  bearing  directly  on  specific  veterinary  instruction 
should  be  himself  a  veterinarian. 

In  the  appointment  of  professors  regard  should  be  had  to  the  apti- 
tude for  scientific  work  already-  shown  by  the  candidate,  and  the  apti- 
itude  to  teach,  as  shown  experimentally  before  a  concours.  The 
'concours  alone  in  which  tlie  candidate  is  nuide  to  exhibit  his  teaching 
powers  practically  may  often  select  the  fluent  but  superficial  man  and 
reject  the  real  scientist,  as  it  has  actually  at  different  times  rejected  the 
illustrious  Bichat,  the  creator  of  microscopical  anatomy,  Claude  Ber- 
nard, the  founder  of  general  physiology,  and  Dupiu,  the  learned  pro- 
curator-general of  the  court  of  causation.  But,  as  corrected  by  rep- 
utation for  work  done  outside  the  concours  the  latter  becomes  a  means 
of  the  highest  value  in  selecting  a  nian  who  joins  superior  didactic 
power  to  a  profound  scientific  knowledge  and  acumen. 

Tutors  should  only  be  chosen  from  graduates,  in  which  case  the  ex- 
cellence in  examination  should  coincide  with  the  juilgment  of  the  pro- 
fessor in  charge  of  the  department  in  making  the  selection.  When 
professors  are  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the  tutors  they  should  have 
the  experience  of  several  years'  practice. 

REPORT   BY    PROFESSORS   MtJLLER    AND    WIRZ, 

Miiller  and  Wirz  indorse  in  the  main  the  principles  enunciated  by 
the  International  Congress  at  Zurich  in  18(»7,  but  propose  certain  modi- 
fications.    The  Zurich  resolutions  were  as  follows: 

1.  The  preparatory  studies  slionUl  be  as  extended  for  veterinary  medicine  as  for  liu- 
man  medicine.  It  is  desirable  that  we  should,  as  far  as  ))08sible,  deuuxnd  foreutrajice 
to  the  veterinary  schools  the  same  knowledge  as  ibr  the  university  studies. 

Siiici%  for  various  reason-i,  we  are  not  yet  able  to  enforce  such  a  rule,  tlui  couj^ress 
is  of  opinion  that  the  minimum  knowledge  preparatory  to  the  special  studies  of  voter- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         151 

inary  medicine  sboulcl  correspond  to  those  acquired  in  the  second  (chiss)  of  a  school 
preparatory  to  university  studies. 

Those  who  have  not  pursued  the  course  of  such  an  institution  should  not  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  special  veterinary  studies  "ntil  they  prove  that  they  are  possessed  of 
an  education  corre8])onding  to  that  of  the  cUiss  above  named. 

2.  Three  years  of  special  studies  at  least  are  necessary  to  secure  the  rank  of 
veterinarian. 

There  is  no  call  for  the  creation  of  veterinarians  of  ditferent  classes  based  on  differ- 
ences in  the  degree  of  instruction. 

3.  Veterinary  schools  may  be  separate,  independent  establishments,  or  joined  to 
by  universities  or  other  institutions  of  higher  learning,  but  their  instruction  should  be 
special  chairs.  We  cannot  but  condemn  the  arraugoinent  in  which  a  single  professor 
is  charged  with  the  duty  of  educating  veterinarians,  this  mode  of  teaching  being  ab- 
solutely insufficient. 

4.  An  organization  of  the  instruction  conformed  to  the  above  principles  should  be 
adopted  above  all  when  the  practice  of  veterinary  medicine  is  well  established  and 
regulated. 

PROPOSITIOXS   OF    MULLER   AND    WIHZ. 


1.  The  preparatory  studies  demanded  for  the  study  of  veterinary  medicine  ought  to 
be  the  same  as  those  exacted  of  the  student  of  human  medicine. 

2.  As  for  various  reasons  this  lirst  principle  cannot  yet  be  enforced,  we  ought  at  least 
to  require  that  all  who  wish  to  enter  on  the  study  of  veterinary  medicine  should  at 
least  possess  the  acquirements  necessary  to  admit  them  to  the  highest  classes  of  a  su- 
perior school  giving  an  ordinary  goodv  education. 

As  an  institution  giving  an  ordinary  good  education,  we  mean  those  schools  which 
give  a  right  to  students  that  have  completed  their  course  to  admission  to  the  higher 
or  university  studies.  (Gymnasiums,  lycennis,  atheneiis,  Latin  schools,  colleges), 
{and  superior  professional  schools,  Bealschulen,  erstcr  ordnnng,  of  Germany),  (Wirz 
and  Miiller),  in  which  Latin  is  obligatory  (Miiller). 

3.  Candidates  unprovided  with  a  certificate  of  admission  to  the  first  class  of  one 
of  these  schools  should  show  by  a  special  examination  that  thej'  are  possessed  of  aa 
equivalent  education. 

XL 

There  is  no  call  for  the  creation  of  veterinarians  of  differentclasses having  a  differ. 
ent  amount  of  preparatory  and  veterinary  education. 

III. 

1.  Four  years'  study,  at  least,  are  requisite  to  make'a  full  study  of  veterinary  med- 
icine, if  that  is  made  to  embrace  i)hysical  and  natural  sciences. 

2.  The  instruction  of  the  first  two  years  (four  first  semesters)  should  embrace  the 
following  Ijranches  :  physics,  chemistry,  natural  history  (geology,  mineralogy,  l)otany> 
and  zoology),  anatomy,  histology,  physiology,  and  shoeing,  with  the  practical  work 
aff  aching  to  them.  A  course  of  practice  and  demonstrations  in  micrography  should 
always  be  included. 

3.  In  the  same  period  may  be  taught  the  zootechnic  branches,  comprehending  the 
natural  histoiy  of  domestic  animals,  the  exterior,  and  zootechny  proper. 

4.  Clinical  teaching  should  continue  through  the  whole  of  the  last  two  years  of 
study.  That  the  practical  instruction  of  the  stuchMits  may  be  complete  it  is  absohitely 
necessary  to  have  beside  a  stationary  and  consulting  clinic  (hospital clinic  and  p<)ly. 
olinic),  an  ambulatory  clinic  (outside  cliinc). 


152  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

5.  Practical  in.striictiou  in  shoeing  caiinot  be  condeiunefl  as  useless,  but  it  ought  to 
be  liniitert  to  the  end  proposed;  this  instruction  is  on  the  whole  very  (Icsirabli?. 

6.  The  inspection  of  meats  of  the  butchery  is  an  absolutely  essential  branch  of  vet- 
erinary education. 

IV. 

1.  At  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  study  (fourth  semester)  the  students  ought  to 
bo  examined  on  the  branches  they  have  studied  during  the  two  iireceding  years. 
None  should  enter  ou  the  studies  of  the  third  year  until  he  has  satisfactorily  passed 
tbis  exaniiuation  (of  candidate,  or  in  physical  and  natural  sciences). 

2.  None  should  be  admitted  to  the  examination  for  veterinariau  nntil  he  has  passed 
that  of  candidate  in  veterinary  medicine. 

(The  examination  in  veterinary  medicine  should  embrace  only  those  branches 
which  have  not  formed  part  of  the  candidature  examination. —  Wh-z.) 

(The  examination  in  veterinary  medicine  should  embrace,  beside  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology, all  branches  of  instruction  not  included  in  the  examination  of  the  candidate. — 
Millhr.) 

3.  The  regulations  for  veterinary  exaiaiuatious  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  abso- 
lutely, or  at  least  essentially,  the  same  for  all  countries. 


1.  The  system  of  residence  in  tbe  school  (internal)  is  not  the  best  for  the  pursuit 
of  veterinary  studies  and  the  social  education  of  veterinarians. 

2.  If  peculiar  circumstances,  proper  to  any  country,  forbid  the  abolition  of  residence 
(internal),  the  students  should  at  least  be  allowed  entire  liberty  outside  the  prescribed 
course  ;  the  control  of  the  internal  ought  to  be  as  liberal  as  possible. 

3.  Obligatory  "internal"  should  be  abolished. 

VI. 

Veterinary  schools  may  be  independent  establishments,  or  they  may  be  connected 
with  universities  or  institutions  for  the  higher  education;  but  veterinary  medicine 
should  have  its  special  chairs.  One  cannot  but  disapprove  of  institutions  in  which  all 
branches  of  veterinary  education  are  divided  in  a  very  limited  number  of  university 
chairs  ;  such  a  system  is  absolutely  insufQcieut. 

VII. 

1.  Professors  in  veterinary  schools  should  be  possessors  of  veterinary  diplomas  ;  an 
exception  to  this  rnle  may  be  admitted  in  the  case  of  those  teaching  the  preliminary 
courses  of  physics  and  natural  sciences. 

2.  It  is  very  desirable  that  veterinarians  before  being  called  to  a  professorship  should 
have  practiced  veterinary  medicine  for  some  years. 

3.  The  diploma  of  physician  or  M.  D.  should  not  in  itself  render  the  holder  eligible 
to  a  veterinary  professorship. 

4.  The  professors  ought  to  be  selected  by  preference  Irom  among  the  assistants,  and 
upon  the  j)roposition  of  the  faculty  of  the  school  in  question. 

5.  Finally,  to  be  able  always  to  complete  the  professional  body,  there  ought  to  be 
created  numerous  places  for  assistants. 

REASONS. 

Ab  the  requiieiiients  for  oiitciiiij;  the  university  are  more  than  caii  at 
proKeut  be  enforcAMl,  aii«l  more  than  is  always  required  for  the  study  of 
medicine,  for  polytechnic  schools,  schools  of  mines,  &c.,  they  should  not 


d 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         153 

be  required  at  present.  The  same  conditions  of  admission  should  be 
maintained  in  all  veterinary  schools,  and  for  all  students,  national  or 
foreign,  for  all,  indeed,  who  do  not  attend  as  simple  auditors.  The  en- 
trance examination  shoukl  be  made  before  a  commission  of  the  faculty 
who  best  know  the  acquirements  requisite  for  the  pursuit  of  the  study. 

Since  the  Zurich  congress  the  great  additions  to  veterinary  studies 
in  practical  chemistry,  micrography,  «&c.,  necessitates  the  extension  of 
the  course  to  four  years  at  least.  Wirz  thinks  even  tive  years  desir- 
able. 

Hugues'  proposal  to  abolish  the  chair  of  special  pathology  is  untena- 
ble. So  long  as  the  clinic  does  not  furnish  abundance  of  material  to 
show  and  demonstrate  to  all  the  students  cases  of  every  disease  it  is 
impossible  to  agree  to  his  proposal. 

While  recognizing  how  much  veterinary  medicine  is  indebted  to  hu- 
man medicine,  they  cannot  admit  that  the  knowledge  of  the  one  tits  for 
the  teaching  of  the  other.  Medical  professors  are  far  from  comprehend- 
ing all  the  requirements  of  veterinary  education,  or  the  exigencies  of 
veterinary  practice.  Most  of  them  continue  ignorant  of  these  from  lack 
of  inclination  as  much  as  lack  of  opportunity',  and  the  education  suffers 
proportionally.  For  professors  and  assistants  alike  a  veterinary  diploma 
is  a  sine  qua  non. 

ACTION   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

After  discussion  the  following  was  adopted  as  the  first  proposition  : 

1.  For  admission  to  veterinary  studies  one  must  be  batchelores  lettres  or  es  sciences, 
tliat  is  to  say,  he  must  have  tiuished  the  studies  of  the  secondary  education. 

The  second  proposition  of  Miiller  and  Wirz  was  adopted,  and  reads  : 

2.  There  is  no  call  for  the  creation  of  veterinarians  of  different  classes,  having  a 
different  amount  of  preparatory  and  veterinary  education. 

The  third  jnoposition  Avas  adopted  with  modifications  of  the  second 
paragraph,  so  as  to  drop  all  reference  to  practical  work,  and  of  the 
fourth  paragraph,  so  as  to  provide  for  two  clinical  professors  in  each 
school,  and  by  the  dropi)ing  of  paragraphs  3  and  5.  As  altered,  it  reads^ 
thus  : 

'3.  Four  years  of  study  at  least  are  requisite  to  make  a  full  study  of  veterinary 
medicine,  if  that  is  made  to  embrace  physics  and  natui'al  sciences. 

(a)  The  instruction  of  the  two  first  years  (four  first  semesters)  should  embrace  the 
following  branches  :  physics,  chemistry,  natural  history  (geology,  mineralogy,  botany, 
and  zoology),  anatomy,  histoloy,  jdiysiology,  and  shoeing.  A  course  of  practice  and 
demonstrations  in  micrograjjliy  should  always  be  included. 

(b)  Clinical  teaching  should  continue  through  the  whole  of  the  last  two  years  of 
study.  That  the  jtractical  instruction  of  the  students  may  be  complete  it  is  a)>solutely 
necessary  to  have  besides  a  stationary  and  consulting  clinic  (hospital  clinic  and  poly- 
clinic), an  ambulatory  clinic  (outside  clinic);  there  ought  to  be  at  least  two  profess" 
ors  of  clinic. 

(c)  The  inspct'tion  of  meats  of  the  butchery  is  an  absolutely  essential  branch  ot 
veterinary  education. 

The  fourth  i)roi)osition  was  modified  by  adoi)tion  of  a  motion  by 


154  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OP    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Quivogiie  and  Larinet  to  have  yearly  examinational,  by  one  by  Wehen- 
kel  to  make  a  two  years'  clinical  course  obligatory,  and  by  one  by 
Eraers  and  Leblanc  that  examining  boards  should  be  composed  of  pro- 
fessors and  practitioners.     As  adopted,  it  reads  thus  : 

4.  At  the  end  of  each  year  the  veterinary  students  should  be  examined  on  the  studies 
which  they  have  been  tan<;ht  that  year  ;  no  one  shouhl  be  aUowed  to  foHow  the  course 
of  the  advanced  year  without  having-  passed  this  examination. 

No  one  should  bo  admitted  to  examination  for  the  degree  of  veterinarian  who 
has  not  followed  a  course  of  clinical  instruction  for  two  years  after  having  passed 
the  examination  of  the  second  year  of  study. 

The  board  of  examiners  for  conferring  grades  should  always  be  formed  partlj'  of 
professors  and  partly  of  practitioners. 

On  motion  of  Quivogue  proposition  third  was  altered  to  : 

5.  "Internal  "  and  "  external"  are  optional  in  veterinary  schools. 

Proposition  6  was  adopted  unchanged,  and  on  motion  of  Wirz,  Flem- 
ing, and  Laiutard,  an  expression  in  favor  of  the  maintenance  of  all  vet- 
erinary schools  by  the  state.     As  adopted  it  reads : 

6.  Veterinary  schools  may  be  independent  institutions,  or  they  may  be  connected 
with  universities  or  institutions  f<»r  the  higher  education,  but  veterinary  medicine 
should  have  its  special  chairs.  One  cannot  but  disapprove  of  the  creation  of  those 
institutions  in  which  all  branches  of  veterinary  education  are  given  in  a  very  limited 
UTimber  of  univoi'sity  chairs.     Such  a  system  is  absolutely  insufticient. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  in  every  country  the  veteiinary  schools  should  be  state 
institutions. 

Proposition  7  was  altered  by  a  proposition  of  Quivogne  to  omit  the 
second  portion  of  paragraph  1,  which  effectually  sujjpressed  paragraph 
3;  and  one  by  Wirz  to  drop  paragraphs  4  an<l  5  as  affected  by  particu- 
lar local  conditions  and  unsnited  for  a  general  decision.  As  adopted 
it  reads  : 

7.  The  professors  of  veterinary  schools  ought  to  possess  diplomas  of  veterinary 
medicine. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  veterinarians  before  being  called  to  the  professorship  should 
have  practiced  veterinary  medicine  for  some  years. 

REMARKS. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  one  in  connection  with  this  subject  is  the 
contrast  between  the  Old  World  and  the  Xew.  Euroi)e  seeks  to  protect 
her  animal  wealth  by  the  creation  and  maintenance  of  thirty-three  state 
veterinary  colleges.  The  United  States,  with  practically  the  same  area, 
and  Avith  a  wealth  in  live  stock  which  is  fast  making  her  the  meat  market 
of  the  world,  has  not  a  single  institution  of  the  kind  supported  and  con- 
trolled by  State  or  Federal  Government.  Europe  has  learned,  by  a  sad 
experience  with  animal  plagues,  that  her  only  safety  consists  in  th(^  crea- 
tion of  educated  veterinarians  by  maintaining  a  sufficient  number  of  thor- 
oughly effici<;nt  establishments,  the  diplomas  of  which  shall  be  sufficient 
guarantee  of  the  knowledg'e  and  ability  requisite  to  carry  on  an  effective 
veteri  nary  sanitary  service  to  care  for  tiie  cavalry  and  artillery  horses,  and 
to  provide  everywhere  the  men  wanted  for  the  treatment  of  her  flocks  and 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        155 

lierds.  In  the  United  States,  in  tlie  absence  of  any  (xovernnient  college, 
the  publicdemaud  for  veterinarians  has  led  to  theestablisbmentof  schools 
^s  jjrivate  enterprises,  some  of  which,  like  the  earlier  schools  of  Boston 
and  Philadelphia,  have  prostituted  their  charters  by  nialdng-  it  a  mere  ex- 
pedient for  the  sale  of  diidomas  to  all  who  would  pay  the  price,  irrespect- 
ive of  education  or  fitness,  while  others  have  filled  their  chairs  with 
men  who  were  themselves  destitute  of  a  veterinary  diploma,  and  made 
them  veterinarians  by  bestowing  the  diploma  of  their  own  institution. 
The  result  is  that  the  country  swarms  with  empirics,  and  that  even  the 
possessionof  a  diploma  is  no  guarantee  of  education  or  ability.  If  sud- 
denly called  upon  to  stem  a  great  wave  of  infection  among  aTiimals  it 
would  be  no  easy  matter  for  this  country  to  speedily  provide  the  neces- 
sary men  who  could  be  relied  upon  for  the  work.  If,  again,  it  were  neces- 
sary to  secure  the  public  health  by  the  suppression  in  animals  of  plagues 
•communicable  to  man,  such  as  anthrax,  tuberculosis,  glanders,  and 
farcy,  milk-sickness,  aphthous  fever,  diphtheria,  trichinosis,  &c.,  we  have 
no  State  accredited  school  from  which  we  could  draw  the  requisite  ex- 
perts. Physicians  are  not  instructed  in  the  diagnosis  and  numagement 
of  these  affections  in  animals,  and  what  have  we  done  to  secure  reliable 
veterinarians!  Thenumbersof  onrhorses  andcattle  are  two-fifths  those 
of  Europe — the  British  Isles  included — and  the  number  of  our  sheep  and 
«wine  is  over  one-third  of  those  of  Europe,  including  the  same  islands. 

Our  latest  census  makes  the  value  of  our  live  stock  in  quadrupeds 
■$1,'jOO,000,000,  which  is,  doubtless,  like  all  official  valuations,  considera- 
bly below  the  mark.  This  great  moneyed  interest,  liable  to  injury  by 
plagues,  which  tend  to  increase  in  geometrical  progression,  is  left  with- 
out that  protection  which  should  have  its  foundation  in  a  national  or 
State  guarantee  of  veterinary  education.  Such  a  guarantee  cannot  be 
secured  by  granting  charters.  These  have  too  often  been  made  the  mere 
occasion  of  the  jtrostitution  of  the  science  to  mammon-worship.  To  fur- 
nish it  the  institution  must  be  placed  above  the  temptation  to  acquire, 
and  indeed  beyond  the  possibility  of  acquiring,  means  by  sacrificing  the 
profession.  This  may  be  secured  by  making  the  veterinary  college  part 
of  a  well-endowed  university,  and  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  same,  or  it 
may  be  made  an  independent  national  or  State  veterinary  school,  like 
most  of  the  schools  of  Europe,  under  such  laws  as  will  i)reclude  the  en- 
trance of  the  debasing  influence  referred  to. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  recommendations  of  the  international  con- 
gress, it  would  be  superfluous  to  enter  into  the  organization  of  veteri- 
nary schools  and  their  curriculum.  It  may,  however,  be  well  to  give 
some  further  data  as  to  tlie  facilities  furnished  in  the  European  veteri- 
nary schools.  It  may  be  permitte<l  me  also  to  hint  that  we  in  America 
cannot  abate  one  .jot  of  the  provisions  made  for  this  education  in  Europe, 
but  rather  increase  them.  In  sixteen  years  since  the  congress  at  Zurich 
it  has  been  found  necessary  in  P^urope  to  demand  an  increase  of  the 
period  of  study  by  one-third,  because  of  the  increasing  extent  of  the 


15f)  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

fields  to  be  studied.  In  addition  to  all  this  we  are  to-day  confronted  by 
the  great  question  of  the  life-history  of  disease  oemis,  which  opens  up 
a  new  world  in  i)atholo.i;y,  and  wliich  can  be  nowhere  so  appropriately 
investigated  as  in  a  veterinary  college.  This  the  (rovernment  owes  at 
once  to  the  great  livestock  interests  of  the  nation,  and  to  the  cause  of 
sanitary  science  as  applied  to  the  human  population.  The  maladies 
transmissible  between  man  and  animals  must  be  investigated  through 
the  latter,  and  from  this  man  will  profit  directly  by  the  restriction  or 
extinction  of  these  affections,  and,  indirectly,  by  analogies  with  the  newly 
discovered  truths  in  the  case  of  other  afltections  i)eculiar  to  the  human 
race. 

In  five  of  the  state  veterinary  colleges  of  the  Continent  which  I  have 
visited  the  grounds  cover  a  large  area,  though  situated  in  a  city,  as  at 
Berlin,  Utrecht,  Brussels,  and  Lyons,  and  are  provided  with  dwellings 
and  offices  for  the  faculty,  library,  boarding  accommodations  for  stu- 
dents, museums,  dissecting-rooms,  rooms  for  autopsies,  laboratories  for 
physics,  chemistry,  pathological  anatomy,  microscopy,  and  biology, 
pharmacy,  lecture-rooms  and  instrument  and  retiring-rooms  for  the 
different  departments,  surgical  operating  theaters,  furnace  for  burning 
infecting  products,  horseshoeing  forge,  halls  for  clinics  (averaging  350 
by  30  feet  each),  provided  with  forge,  means  of  fastening  for  operations, 
&c.,  and  separate  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  the  different  kinds 
of  hospital  patients  (solipeds,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine  and  dogs),  and 
with  special  stables  for  those  of  each  kind  suffering  from  contagious 
diseases.  These  last  were  paved  with  granite  or  hard- burned  bricks, 
set  in  cement,  and  lined  for  8  feet  from  the  floor  with  enameled  tile,  set 
in  cement,  while  all  the  fittings  (stall,  rack,  manger,  &c.),  were  of  iron 
to  facilitate  disinfection.  Then  each  school  had  its  botanical  garden^ 
and  in  some  the  different  field  crops  were  cultivated,  and  several  speci- 
mens of  each  of  the  best  breeds  of  domestic  animals  of  the  same  or 
adjacent  countries  were  kept  for  purposes  of  instruction. 

These  state  veterinary  schools  further  have  bursaries  for  poor  but  de- 
serving students,  the  French  Government  providing  no  less  than  240  of 
these  under  conditions  which  demand  excellence  alike  in  deportment 
and  study.  The  minister  of  war  can  further  send  a  certain  number  of 
students  (in  France  CO)  to  be  educated  free  for  service  in  the  cavalrj^ 
and  artillery.— J.  L. 

4.  THE    RIGHT    OF    VETERINARIANS    TO    FURNISH    MEDI- 
CINES FOR  THEIR  PATIENTS. 

This  subject,  introduced  by  Rossignol,  apropos  of  a  recommendatiori 
of  a  commission  of  the  French  legislature  to  abolish  this  right,  wa» 
shortly  discussed,  and  after  securing  a  statement  from  the  attendant 
representation  of  each  country  in  Europe  and  America,  as  to  the  practice 
in  that  country,  the  congress  decided  as  follows : 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        157 

1.  Considering  tbtit  veterinarians  are  initiated  by  the  tecluiical  studies  pursued  in 
^their  schools  into  the  posology  which  pertains  to  the  administration  of  medicines 
destined  to  the  difterent  species  of  animals; 

2.  Considering  further  that  from  this  point  of  view  they  possess  better  guarantees 
than  do  druggists  agaiust  the  dangers  which  result  from  erroneous  prescriptions  ; 

3.  Considering  that  the  right  to  prepare  and  sell  medicines,  especially  destined  to 
the  treatment  of  diseased  animals,  is  indispensable  for  veterinarians  who  have  ready 
^11  the  medicines  necessary  for  the  treatment  of  the  animals  to  which  they  are  called, 
and  who  can  furnish  the  same  to  their  employers  at  a  low  price; 

4.  Considering  that  a  law  prohibitive  of  this  is  not  only  useless  but  opposed  to 
sound  economy — 

The  international  congress  expresses  its  opinion  that  in  all  countries  veterinarians 
.should  have  the  right  to  prepare  and  sell  medicines  destined  to  the  treatment  of  dis- 
eased animals,  at  least  within  the  liiuits^of  their  practice,  and  that  it  should  be  lor- 
bidden  to  empirics  to  keep  pharmaceutical  substances. 

5.  TUBERCULOSIS  IN  ANIMALS. 

This  subject  was  most  extensively  and  ably  treated  by  Lydtiii,  of 
Carlsriihe,  reporter  of  the  commission  appointed  to  bring  it  before  the 
•congress.  Unfortnnately  so  much  time  had  already  been  consumed  on 
the  preceding  subjects  that  the  congress  could  not  give  it  the  full  and 
'  deliberate  consideration  which  its  overwhelming  imi»ortance  demands. 
Its  full  consideration  may  therefore  be  held  to  be  deferred  until  the 
next  veterinary  congress  shall  meet  in  Paris,  when  the  increased  knowl- 
edge of  the  disease  will  doubtless  strengthen  views  which  may  to-day 
be  looked  upon  as  iu  some  respects  premature.  Meanwhile  a  summary 
of  Lydtin's  excellent  report,  and  the  action  of  the  congress  on  it,  can- 
not fail  to  have  a  high  value.  It  concludes  by  proposing  for  the  a<lop- 
tion  of  congress  the  following  resolutions : 

1.  Tuberculosis  is  transmissible  hereditarily. 

2.  It  is  contagious. 

3.  It  should  be  included  among  affections  which  should  be  opposed  by  measures  of 
sanitary  police. 

4.  The  measures  that  ought  to  be  adopted  for  this  purpose  are  the  following: 

(rt.)  Every  owner  of  domestic  animals  must  report  protni)tly  to  the  authority 
charged  with  this  police  service  every  case  of  tuberculosis,  and  any  symptom  causing 
susjiicion  of  the  existence  of  this  affection  ;  he  must  keep  every  animal  attacked  or 
suspected  out  of  any  place  where  it  may  be  able  to  transmit  the  malady. 

The  same  obligation  should  be  incumbent  on  the  steward,  or  representative  of  trhe 
proprietor,  on  the  person  conducting  a  herd  or  flock  in  transit,  also  on  the  proprietor 
of  a  stable,  yard,  i)asturage,  or  park  where  animals  are  temporarilj'  received. 

This  report  is  equally  obligatory  on  veterinarians,  and  on  any  person  who  j)ractice8 
by  profession  the  art  of  veterinary  medicine,  on  meat  inspectors,  and  upon  every  per- 
son engaged  in  the  trade,  of  the  destruction,  utilization,  or  manipulations  of  cadavers 
or  their  products,  if  before  all  intervention  of  the  police  he  discovers  the  existeiu-e  of 
tuberculosis,  or  recognizes  symptoms  which  lead  him  to  suspect  the  presence  of  this 
malady. 

(h.)  Tin*  appearance  of  the  affection  and  the  particular  herd  infected  ought  to  bo 
I)ublish('d. 

{(•.)  The  suspected  as  well  as  the  disi^ased  animils  should  be  sequestrated,  and  their 
slaughter  ordered  by  the  police,  animals  suspected  of  being  infected  should  be  kept 
in  (luaraiitino,  unless  there  are  comparati-vely   few,  in  which  case   they  should  be 


158  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

slaughtered  by  official  order.     If  a  larj^e  uuinberare  suspected,  they  may  be  fattened 
aud  sent  to  the  abattoir  as  quickly  as  possible. 

(d.)  lufected  stables  aud  other  places  should  be  nuder  the  special  surveillauce  of 
the  police  for  an  entire  year,  counting  from  the  last  case  of  the  disease.  The  sale  of 
beasts  suspected  of  infection  should  be  interdicted,  nnless  it  is  for  slaughter,  and 
under  tlie  insiiection  of  a  veterinarian. 

(e.)  The  place  occupied  by  a  tuberculous  animal  ought  to  be  cleansed  and  disinfected, 
the  animal  having  been  previously  removed  ;  it  ought  to  be  the  same  when  the  malady 
has  disappeared  from  stables  and  other  closed  places  in  which  tuberculous  animal* 
have  been  kept ;  it  is  only  after  disinfection  that  the  prescribed  police  measures  should 
be  removed.  During  the  whole  course  of  the  panzootic  the  stables  should  be  especi- 
ally well  ventilated. 

(/.)  The  flesh  and  viscera  of  a  tuberculous  animal  can  only  be  utilized  for  consump- 
tion when  the  disease  is  found  in  the  cadaver  in  its  incipient  stage,  when  the  lesions 
are  confined  to  a  very  small  portion  of  the  body,  when  the  lymphatic  glands  are  still 
free  from  all  morbid  tuberculous  lesion,  when  tl;e  tuberculous  formations  have  not 
yet  nndergone  softening,  when  the  flesh  presents  the  characters  of  meat  of  the  first 
quality,  and  when  the  animal  is  in  a  good  state  of  nutrition  at  the  time  of  slaughter. 

It  should  not  be  permitted  to  remove  the  flesh  of  tuberculous  animals,  admitted  to 
consumption,  out  of  the  locality  where  they  have  been  slaughtered,  and  it  should  not 
be  oft'ered  for  sale  in  the  ordinary  butcher's  stall. 

Every  quarter  of  meat  and  all  viscera  showing  lesions  of  tuberculosis,  as  well  as 
the  flesh  of  any  other  animal  in  which  there  is  found  at  the  necropsy  a  tuberculous' 
infection  more  pronounced  than  that  referred  to  above,  should  be  watered  with  pe- 
troleum oil,  and  afterward  buried  under  police  supervision.  The  extraction  of  fat  by 
cooking  and  the  utilization  of  the  skin  may  be  j)ermitted. 

The  in-ipection  of  every  animal  attacked  by  tuberculosis  should  be  made  by  a  vet- 
erinarian, who  alone  should  decide  if  the  flesh  is  fit  for  human  consum[)tiou. 

((/.)  The  milk  of  animals  suffering  from  tuberculosis,  or  suspected  of  it,  should  not 
be  consumed  by  man  nor  certain  animals.  The  sale  of  such  milk  should  be  severely 
interdicted.  The  milk  of  animals  suspected  of  infection  should  only  be  used  after, 
boiling. 

(h.)  Under  proper  safeguards  against  its  abuse,  it  would  be  proper  to  furnish  in- 
demnities for  cattle  slaughtered  by  official  order  in  consequence  of  tuberculosis,  also 
for  those  that  have  died  from  this  malady,  and  for  those  found  to  be  tuberculous  after 
they  have  been  killed  for  human  food.  The  indemnity  may  be  paid  out  of  the  state 
treasury,  or  to  create  the  re(|nisite  funds  resort  may  be  had  to  an  obligotary  insur- 
ance. 

(i.)  Violations  of  orders  relative  to  measures  preventive  and  repressive  of  tubercu- 
losis should  be  punished. 

(/.)  As  a  safeguard  of  the  public  health  against  the  dangers  which  threaten  it 
through  the  consumi>tion  of  flesh  furnished  from  diseased  animals,  of  stale  or  putrid 
meat,  and  of  falsified  sausage  and  mince-meat  there  should  be  established  in  every 
commune  a  competent  service  for  the  inspection  of  meats. 

(A-. )  Establishments  which  make  a  specialty  of  furnishing  milk  for  invalids,  or  for 
infants,  ought,  as  regards  these  milch  animals,  to  be  submitted  to  a  constant  control 
confided  to  veterinarians  officially  designated  for  this  purpose. 

In  rcooiuinending  these  resolutions  for  the  adoption  of  congress  it 
has  been  felt  that  they  are  full}'  called  for  in  view  of  the  danger  which 
has  long-  threatened  tlie  interests  of  stock  owners  and  the  health  of  the 
coininiinity,  and  which  constitutes  a  veritable  calamity. 

Lydtin  begins  by  tracing  the  history  of  tuberculosis,  showing  how 
like  other  diseases,  and  notably  glanders,  it  appears  in  forms  that  are 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         159 

not  recognized  as  identical  with  the  common  types,  and  bow,  in  conse- 
quence, its  true  characters,  its  prevalence,  and,  above  all,  its  conta- 
gions property  were  ignored,  until  anatomo-pathological  observations 
showed  the  identity  of  the  lesions  in  ditt'erent  organs,  and  biological  ex- 
periments established  the  true  nature  of  the  disease  germ. 

He  thinks  Moses  refers  to  phthisis  in  the  word  dlirre — (leanness)  Lev. 
xxii,  22 — and  Columella,  as  ])hthisis  (De  re  Rustica);  the  same  idea  is 
embraced  in  most  of  its  common  designations — as  pining,  consumption- 
decline.  iSchicinden,  Schicindsucht^  \AitYnsis,  nlceratio?ipulmonaire,  Lungen 
versehiciirvnfj,  hmgensiicht,  lurKjenfUule  sulliciently  illustrate. 

Another  form  has  been  named  and  classified,  on  account  of  sexual 
aberrations,  nymphomania,  satyriasis,  Stiersucht,  f/eilesucht,  Monatsreiterei 
(German),  nin/omania,  furore  nterino  (Italian),  Brumniel  (Swiss),  bull- 
ing (English). 

Another  form  has  been  named,  from  the  more  or  less  firm  excrescences 
which  appear  on  the  serous  membranes  and  skin — rerlsneht,  Mirse- 
siuht,  MeerUnsif/keit,  Ziipjigkeit,  Kranichtheit,  Rindsliammen,  Trauben- 
Icranlheit,  i)earl  disease,  knots,  kernels,  grapes,  angleberries,  clyers. 

The  supi)osed  syphilitic  cliaracter  of  the  disease  produced  the  fol- 
lowing names:  Franzosenkranlcheit,  Francoiisoicitost  pri  Kraicaeh,  Lust- 
seuche,  Unreinigleif,  reneric  et  morbus  gallirus  boum. 

The  implication  of  the  glands  and  the  sarcomatous  and  fibrous  charac- 
ter of  the  growth  has  given  rise  to  still  other  names  :  Driisenkranklieit, 
malattia  glandulare,  sarlcomdyskrasie,  cahexia  bourn  sarcomatosa,  sar- 
comatosis  infectiosa,  sarco-tuberculosis,  tnbervulosis  fibroinatosa,  riiids- 
tuberculose,  &c.  Again,  as  it  appears  in  the  pig  in  the  form  of  scrofula, 
it  has  been  called  scrofula  tubercle. 

Ko  wonder  that  the  identity  of  all  those  forms  of  the  disease  was  slow 
to  be  recognized,  and  that  pathological  anatomy  and  inoculative  ex[)eri- 
ments  had  to  be  invoked  to  determine  it.  The  name  to  be  preferred  is 
the  generic  one  tuberculosis  (or  tuberculosis  panzootica  contagiosa),  and 
yet  this  must  not  be  held  to  imi)ly  that  tht^  nodosity  (tubercle)  is  a  con- 
stant and  pathognomonic  feature  of  the  disease. 

The  manifestations  of  the  disease  are  entered  on  fully,  showing  that 
after  the  i)reliminary  slight  fever  (marked  symptoms  often  snl)side  and 
of  the  local  lesions  are  confined  to  certain  non-vital  organs)  there  may 
be  comparatively  little  sign  of  illness  for  months  or  years.  The  (low 
of  milk  may  be  abundant,  and  though  variable  yet  of  no  fixeil  quality, 
and  the  animal  may  breed,  work,  or  even  fatten  without  suspicion.  As 
the  diseased  i)rocesses  extend  over  the  system  febrile  symptoms  reap- 
pear and  tend  to  assume  a  remittent  character,  the  temperature  becom- 
ing abnormally  low  in  the  morning  and  high  toward  night,  and  at  the 
same  time  wasting  advances  more  or  less  rapidly.  I^nlargment  of  the 
cervical  lymi)hatic  glands,  irregular  appetite,  tympanies,  colics,  (Con- 
stipations, and  diarrheas,  and  indications  of  lesions  of  the  respiratory 
organs,  are  especially  common.     In  certain  cases  there  may  be  muscu- 


IGO  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

laror  nervous  disorder,  craiups,  paralysis,  wryneck,  epilepsy,  turning'  in 
a  cirele,  coma,  blindness,  in  others  disease  of  the  testicles,  or  udder,  of 
the  bones,  joints,  and  skin. 

The  affection  may  prove  fatal  in  less  than  three  months,  or  it  may  last 
fjr  an  ordinary  lifetime.  It  may  induce  other  diseases  of  the  organs 
in  which  it  is  located,  and  thus  greatly  complicate  the  sj^mptoras  or 
hasten  a  fatal  result. 

It  follows  that  the  disease  is  not  always  easy  to  diagnose.  Yet  its 
symptomatology  is  quite  as  advanced  as  that  of  many  other  diseases, 
and  with  the  recent  demonstration  of  its  germ — hnciUus  tuberculosis — 
it  is  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  veterinary  sanitary  police. 

The  i)athological  anatomy  of  tuberculosis  is  more  perfect.  The  lesions 
most  constantly  met  in  the  cadaver  are  the  neoplasms  on  the  pleurae 
and  peritoneum.  These  vary  in  size  from  a  millet  seed  to  a  pea ;  they 
are  single  or  united  in  bunches  (grapes),  pedunculated,  polypoid,  or 
warty,  red,  flesh-colored  or  brownish  yellow,  and  of  most  varied  con- 
sistency. Very  often  the  center  of  the  soft  nodosity  is  deep  red,  while 
that  of  the  har.l  one  is  yellowish  and  caseated  or  of  the  consistency 
of  mortar.  According  to  Virchow  they  appear  first  as  little  nodosities 
or  pearls  in  groups  projecting  slightly  from  the  surface  of  the  serous 
membranes  ;  later  they  become  pedunculated,  remaining  connected  by 
vascular  bands  of  connective  tissue:  still  later  earthy  salts  are  deposited 
in  them,  and  finally  they  soften,  undergoing  fatty  degeneration,  and  be- 
come like  a  thick  mortar. 

Changes  in  the  lymphatic  glands  of  the  head,  neck,  chest,  abdomen, 
&c.,  are  also  present  in  all  but  the  most  exceptional  cases.  These  are 
swollen,  and  of  a  dull,  yellowish  color,  impregnated  with  juice  or  pig- 
mented. They  »how  haemorrhages  as  large  as  a  pin's  head,  irregular 
enlargements,  and  indurations.  On  section  the  snrtVice  shows  numerous 
infiltrated  points  of  the  size  of  a  millet  seed  to  a  pea,  of  a  grayish  yel- 
low or  whitish  color,  and  the  consistency  of  cheese  or  mortar.  Larger 
centers  of  irregular  sliape,  but  the  same  characters,  are  also  met  with. 

The  lungs  in  most  cases  present  similar  lesions  in  nodules  and  no- 
dosities in  all  stages  from  the  simple  hemorrhagic  point  to  the  caseous 
or  calcareous  mass,  also  connective  tissue  neoplasm,  which  obliterate 
the  pubnonary  lobules  and  attain  considerable  size,  and  finally  caseous 
masses  in  the  midst  of  lung  tissue,  otherwise  unaltered.  Sometimes  the 
nodosities  of  the  pleura  covering  the  ribs  adhere  to  those  on  the  lungs, 
and  they  miy  b3ci>me  continuous  into  the  lung  tissue  for  an  indefinite 
distance. 

The  softened  nodosities  may  open  into  the  pleural  sac  with  fatal  effect, 
or  into  the  bronchia,  causing  a  grumous  discharge  from  the  nose  and 
mouth,  and  when  empty  they  form  cavities — vomicae. 

The  nodules  are  common  on  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  trachea, 
larynx,  pharynx,  and  gullet,  and  in  the  submucous  tissue  of  these  parts, 
.and  softening  and  discharging  they  form  funnel-shaped  ulcers,  which 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         161 

become  coufluent  and  cause  deep  and  extensive  sores  invading  tlie  sub- 
jacent cartilage  and  other  tissues. 

Sometimes  the  brain  and  s])inal  cord  are  invaded,  but  especially  the 
pia  mater  and  arachnoid,  giving  rise  to  the  most  varied  nervous  symp- 
toms, and  passing  through  the  same  changes  with  an  especial  tendency 
to  puriform  softening  when  in  the  brain  substance. 

Tubercular  deT)osits  in  the  coats  of  the  bowels  are  found  in  cattle  in 
tlie  form  of  nodules  varying  in  size  from  a  pin's  head  to  a  hempseed  on 
the  inner  surface  of  the  peritoneum  (Niklas),  and  in  pigs  in  the  forms 
forms  known  as  scrofula  or  caseous  enterites. 

The  miliary  nodules  and  aggregations  of  them  are  also  found  in  the 
]i\er  and  spleen,  less  frequently  in  kidneys  and  bladder,  and  in  the  iren- 
erative  organs  (tunica  vaginalis,  cord,  testicle,  uterus,  ovaries,  Fallo- 
pian tubes,  vagina),  and  in  the  mummary  glands.  The  mus(;les  are 
occasionally  the  seat  of  tubercle,  and  the  bones  rather  frequently  so. 
The  neoplasm  takes  place  by  preference  in  the  cancellated  tissue  of  the 
extiemities  of  long  bones,  and  in  that  of  the  bones  of  the  cranium,  and 
the  spines  of  the  dorsal  vertebra^. 

T\ni  relative  frequev.cy  of  the  more  common  seats  may  be  deduced 
from  the  followiug  table  of  1,590  cases  observed  in  Baden  : 

Per  conf. 

Lesions  of  the  lunjis  only •>! 

Lesions  of  pcritouenm  ami  pleura  only 28 

Lesions  imlnionary  anil  pleural :i<» 

Lesions  of  generalized  tuberculosis <) 

Lesions  of  {^enerati ve  orgaus  only ;{ 

Microscopically  the  tubercular  products  are  composed  of — 

{a.)  Excessive  growth  of  new  connective  lis  ue  which,  in  the  lungs, 
may  amount  to  ~)~)  to  100  pounds. 

(6.)  Connective  tissue  growths  interspersed  with  centers  of  degenera- 
tion :  ./fr,s7,  hemorrhagic  points;  second,  small  \itreous  looking  masses, 
and,  third,  soft  caseous  collections.  Both  these  forms  show  a  stnmg- 
propensity  to  calcification,  and  in  bones  to  genuine  ossification. 

(6'.)  Sarcomatous  neoplasms  or  tubercular  nodosities.  These  have  a 
Aiiscular  stro?na  of  connective  tissue  inclosing  masses  of  round  lym- 
]»hoid  and  fusiform  cells.  The  peripheral  cells  have  a  clear  outliue, 
and  there  are  few  free  nuclei,  while  in  the  center  the  cells  become  opacpie 
and  indistinct  with  little  protoplasm  and  shriveled  nuclei  and  free 
luiclei  and  grannies  abound.     These  also  are  often  calcareous. 

(d.)  Tubercles  varying  in  size  from  a  millet  seed  to  a  hen's  e^ig.  These 
ai)pear  in  the  paren(;hymatous  tissue  of  the  lung-,  &c.,  while  those  for- 
merly described  attect  ra\her  the  surface  and  the  serous  membranes. 
These  are  at  first  sniall  and  translucent,  but  increase  by  juxtaposition 
and  confluence,  and  being  exclusively  cellular  become  early  (calcified, 
or  more  frequently  caseated.  These  are  much  more  numerous  in  an  in- 
fected tissue  than  any  product  likely  to  be  mistaken  for  them. 

{e.)  Ulcers  of  various  forms  and  dimensions.  In  all  these  lesions 
5751  T)  A 1 1 


162  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

there  is  the  same  initial  change — proliferation  of  the  connective  tissue. 
The  variations  in  the  nature  of  the  lesions  depend  on  the  different  ac- 
tivity of  the  intercellular  substance  and  the  connective  tissue  and  endo- 
thelial cells,  on  the  disaggregation  of  the  elements  and  the  occurrence 
of  ulceration.  Thus  the  fibrous  growth  is  usually  greatest  where  con- 
nective tissue  is  most  abundant,  as  in  bones,  cartilages,  and  interlobular 
lung  tissues,  while  the  more  cellular  and  rapidly  disintegrating  growth 
occurs  in  connection  with  epithelial  structures,  as  in  the  air  cells  and  on 
the  inner  coat  of  blood-vessels.  This  tendency  to  attack  the  connective 
tissue  and  lymphatics,  and  to  show  products  varying  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  surrounding  structures  is  common  to  other  infectious  dis- 
eases, and  notably  glanders,  chronic  lung  plague,  actinomykosis,  &c.  As 
in  these  cases,  too,  the  morbid  process  is  first  localised  and  only  becomes 
diffused  when  it  has  attained  a  certain  local  intensity.  Again,  it  agrees 
with  other  infectious  diseases  in  being  favored  by  certain  unhygienic 
conditions,  as  damp  pastures,  close  filthy  buildings,  overcrowding,  poor 
food,  excessive  work  or  milking,  &c.,  yet  is  not  absolutely  dependent 
on  any  one  or  more  of  these,  nor  due  to  these  alone.  As  in  these  other 
affections  there  is  the  disease  germ — bacillus  tuberculosis — the  presence 
of  which  is  essential  to  the  development  of  the  disease,  and  its  recogni- 
tion completes  the  diagnosis. 

Again,  there  is  a  special  constitutional  predisposition  in  animals  hav- 
ing an  excess  of  connective  tissue  and  of  lymphatic  development  as  in 
cattle  and  swine. 

Climate  seems  to  have  much  effect,  as  the  disease  is  virtually  un- 
known in  northern  and  arctic  climates — Iceland,  Northern  Norway,  and 
Sweden,  Finland  and  Lapland — and  very  common  in  the  temperate 
and  tropical  regions. 

(While  frost  doubtless  chains  up  this  germ  when  out  of  the  body,  as 
it  does  others,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  paucity  of  cattle  in  the 
extreme  north  will  even  more  tend  to  retard  the  propagation  of  this 
disease.  Other  countries  formerly  free  from  tuberculosis  have  now, 
by  the  influx  of  consumptive  patients,  and,  in  some  instances,  by  the 
greater  density  of  the  population,  become  extensively  affected  with  this 
disease,  as  witness  the  Hebrides,  Australia,  and  our  northwestern 
States  and  Territories. — J.  L.) 

To  the  same  effect  speaks  the  great  prevalence  of  tuberculosis  in 
dairies  near  cities  where  the  stock  is  often  changed  and  new  stock  is 
being  constantly  purchased,  and  its  almost  complete  absence  from  dis- 
tricts exclusively  devoted  to  breeding  and  never  importing  strange 
stock.  This  is  but  a  repetition  of  what  is  known  of  other  contagious 
diseases.     Wild  races,  too,  living  in  the  open  air  are  largely  exempt. 

Heredity  as  a  cause  of  tuberculosis. — In  favor  of  the  heredity  of  tuber- 
culosis Jj.vdtin  quotes  from  over  a  score  of  veterinary  authors.  The 
congenital  presence  of  the  disease  is  proved  by  quotations  from  Konig, 
Stirnimann,  Adam,  Butscher,  Virchow,  Semmer,  Jessen,  Fischer,  Miil- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        3  63 

er,  Zipplius,  &c.  The  iufrequent  recoguition  of  the  disease  in  veal 
calves  is  notewortby,  beiug  geuerally  ouly  a  fraction  of  1  per  ceut.,  but 
it  must  be  added  that  tuberculosis  in  the  dam,  afiecting  the  fetus, 
usually  determiues  the  death  of  the  latter,  followed  by  abortion,  and 
that  of  those  in  which  the  disease  stops  short  of  this  the  tubercles  often 
rest  circumscribed  and  inactive  in  an  unimportant  organ  until  the  young 
animal  is  more  fully  developed,  or  even  grown  up. 

(I  have  repeatedly  seen  abortions  as  the  first  indication  of  tuberculosis 
in  a  herd,  and  calves  of  healthy  breeds  infected  by  milk  grow  to  ma- 
turity and  then  fall  victims,  where  the  ancient  calcified  products  were 
found  side  by  side  with  the  recent.  It  is  further  to  be  noted  that  the 
calves  more  severely  affected  perish  of  indigestions,  diarrheas,  &c.,  and 
are  buried  by  the  owners  without  any  notification  of  the  authorities. 
These,  therefore,  cannot  be  fattened  for  veal. — J.  L.) 

Goring  noticed  that  in  bovine  tuberculosis  123  were  infected  by  the 
dam  and  13  by  the  sire.  The  hereditary  cases  constituted  12  per  cent, 
of  all  cases  of  the  <lisease.  All  veterinary  and  agricultural  writers  at- 
tribute a  most  disastrous  influence  to  in-and-in  breeding  (in  infected 
families). 

The  special  i)redisposition  of  animals  with  much  loose  connective  tis- 
sue has  been  already  referred  to.  It  is  further  noticeable  that  this  is  a 
prerequisite  to  aptitude  to  fatten,  and  it  is  notorious  that  many  fami- 
lies of  our  best  breeds  of  meat-producing  animals  are  affected  with 
tuberculosis,  while  the  disease  is  less  prevalent  among  uninii)roved 
races. 

(In  this  connection  we  must  not  ignore  the  close  breeding  of  the  latter 
their  residence  in  a  hot  forcing  atmosphere,  and  their  preservation  for 
breeding  purposes,  even  when  manifestly  unhealthy,  nor  the  free  open- 
air  life  and  the  prompt  disposal  of  unthrifty  beasts  among  the  less  val- 
uable breeds.  The  disease  being  due  to  a  specific  germ,  it  should  be 
limited  by  the  repression  of  that  and  not  by  abolishing  in  our  meat- 
producing  animals  those  qualities  which  constitute  their  value. — J.  L.) 

The  conclusions  as  regards  heredity  are  thus : 

1.  Tliiit  hoiedity  is  not  without  iutlaoiice  apon  the  propagation  of  tuberculosis. 

2.  That  this  uialady  is  trausuiitted  aliku  by  the  sire  and  the  dam. 

:?.  That  the  transmission  of  the  morbific  principle  to  the  ovnle  or  fetus  in  course  of 
develoimient,  is  a  cause  of  sterility  in  the  parents,  and  frequently  occasions  abortions 
and  premature  parturitions. 

4.  That  a  fetus  affected  with  tuberculosis  rarely  attains  complete  maturity  or  comes 
into  the  world  in  conditions  of  normal  viability. 

5.  That  notwithstanding  these  facts,  we  cannot  deny  the  possible  birth  (perhaps  in 
great  numbers)  of  tuberculous  descendants  which  can  develop  and  multiply  cqua] 
to  animals,  in  perfect  health  and  without  any  predisposition. 

Contagion  as  a  cause  of  tuberculosis. — Lydtin  refers  to  the  above 
proof  of  the  transmission  of  the  disease  through  the  ovum,  sperm,  uter- 
ine secretions,  &c.,  and  proceeds  to  offer  further  evidence  of  direct  con- 
tagion.   He  quotes  Kuhling,  Ivrunitz,  Fromage,  Huzard,  Spiuola,  Crugel, 


164  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Lafosse,  Villeniin,  Diipont,  and  Zaugger,  in  support  of  this,  and  ad- 
vances the  following-  proposition : 

The  morbific  principle  cau  enter  the  system  either  by  the  respirator}-  or  digestive 
apparatus.  The  inspired  air  and  the  forages  and  drinks  can  act  as  vehicles ;  it  may 
also  be  transplanted  by  way  of  the  generative,  organs  (coitus),  or  by  wounds,  accidental 
or  experimental. 

Instances  of  infection  by  cohabitation  are  (pioted  from  Stahl  (to  i 
stud  bulls  by  a  newly  bought  tuberculous  one  of  different  blood);  Ken- 
iier  (to  cow  and  calf  from  tuberculous  cow  of  different  blood);  Fischer 
(heifer  from  tuberculous  cow  and  3  cows  and  o.\  from  tuberculous  cow 
of  alien  blood) ;  and  Jaum  (11  cows  from  a  new  tuberculous  one);  Ross 
(4  cows  from  a  new  tuberculous  one) ;  and  others  by  Viseu,  Zundel, 
Grad,  Haushatter,  Leutz,  Huzard,  Tessier,  D'Arboval,  Remj^,  and 
Hugues.  Cases  of  infection  through  food  are  quoted  from  Jessen  (calves 
sucking  si(;k  cows,  died  in  six  to  twelve  months) ;  Volkers,  Lehnert'(2 
pigs  of  healthy  parents  in  one  moutli  after  feeding  unboiled  inilk  of  sick 
cows);  Bromley,  Walley,  Fleming,  Zippilius  (calf  sucking  tuberculous 
dam  died  of  diarrhea  with  circular,  belt  like  ulcers  of  small  intestine) ; 
Gerlach  (many  calves  and  pigs  infected  by  milk  of  sick  cows),  &c. 

Transmission  by  coition  is  less  detinite,  but  is  inferred  from  the  oc- 
currence of  tubercidosis  in  the  womb.  Fallopian  tubes,  and  ovary  of  the 
female  (Adam),  and  the  testicles  of  the  male  (Schlotterer),  also  from 
the  abortions  in  tuberculous  herds. 

Of  transmission  hy  raw  surfaces,  all  the  cases  of  experimental  inocula- 
tion are  instances.  Lydtin  took  lymph  from  lung  affected  with  tuber- 
cle and  lung  phigue,  but  carefully  avoided  any  point  where  tubercle 
could  be  detected,  and  avoided  also  the  blood  as  far  as  possible.  With 
this  he  inoculated  10  cattle,  5  of  which,  when  killed  twenty-three  days 
later,  showed  numerous  distinct  miliary  tubercles  in  the  inoculative 
swelling,  and  one  tubercle  in  the  right  lung ;  the  remaining  four  showed 
tubercles  of  older  date  in  the  lungs. 

Toussaint  inoculated  a  tuberculous  cow  with  cow-])ox,  furnished  by  a 
healthy  heifer,  and  eight  days  later  from  the  residtiiig  cow-pox  vesicles 
inoculated  four  rabbits  and  a  pig.  All  of  the  rabbits  became  tubercu- 
lous in  two  months. 

In  the  field  of  the  experimental  transmission  of  tubercle,  the  work 
has  now  been  extensive  and  the  results  most  convincing.  Villemin, 
Gerlach,  Chauveau,  Colin,  Soujou  and  Court  Paul,  Giinther  and 
Harms,  Eivolta  and  Peroneito,  Bagge,  Bollinger,  Kohue,  Semmer,  l>ifti 
and  Verga,  Bouley,  Peuch,  Aufricht,  Toussaint,  and  others  have  con- 
tributed in  varying  degrees  to  the  solution  of  the  question,  and  the 
gran<l  result  attests  indubitably  the  communicability  of  the  disease. 

Giinther  and  Harms  conveyed  the  disease  to  5  rabbits  by  making 
them  breathe  the  expired  air  from  tuberculous  cows.  Tappeiner  con- 
veyed it  to  dogs  by  diffusing  the  tuberculous  si)Uta  of  man  in  spray  in 
the  air  thev  breathed. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        165 

Jij.pfirhnoiif)  in  fcediin/  the  hi/evtiiif/  matter  are  taliulaled  (ifi  follows  by  Johne. 


Rosults. 


Horses 

Calves 

Sheep  

(loats  

Swine 

Rabbits  . . . 

Dogs 

Cats    - 
Guiuea  pis 
Piireons  ... 


>II. 

Number 

animal 

ot 

s. 

Aftirmative. 

Negative. 

Doubtful. 

1 
5 

35 

13 

00 

171 

20 

9 

6 

Fer 

cent. 

CO 
100.0 
51.  4 
84.6 
Go.  0 
31.2 
25.0 
.55.  5 
83.3 

0.0 

100 

Oper  cent. 
0  0 
12.  n 
15.4 
18.3 
66.5 
75.0 
44.4 
16.6 
100.0 

0.0 

per 

cent. 

0.0 

3.7 

0.0 

16.6 

2.3 

0.0 

CO 

CO 

0.0 

322 


Tahlr  [I'lrhuj  the  rexiiltn  in  the  .same  animah  according  to  the  food  eaten. 


Results. 


Material  fed. 


117  tubi'.rcular  matter  from  heifer. 
ii>  raw  flesh  of  tuberculous  cows.. 

ill  milk  of  tuberculous  cows 

1  milk  of  tubeiculous  rabbit 

LTi  tubeionlar  matter  of  man   

:;:;  tubercular  matter  of  pig 

L  tiilHMcular  matter  of  sheep 

-  uibrrcular  matter  of  rabbit 

.(  tubercular  matter  of  ape 

5  tubercular  matter  of  birds 


Affirmative. 

Nejrative. 

Doubtful. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

61.5 

34.2 

4.3 

13.1 

86.9 

CO 

3C7 

59.  3 

1.0 

100.0 

CO 

CO 

36.0 

64.0 

CO 

.53.  0 

47.0 

Co 

loco 

CO 

CO 

5C0 

50.0 

CO 

lOCO 

0.0 

CO 

lOCO 

CO 

CO 

Jobiie  concludes — 

1.  That  tuberculosis  can  be  transmitted  from  animal  to  animal  and 
from  man  to  animal  by  feedin^i;"  on  tuberculous  substances,  but  this 
mode  of  transmission  is  much  less  certain  than  by  inoculation. 

2.  The  materials  which  most  certainly  transmit  tuberculosis  by  gastro- 
intestinal ingestiou  are  tuberculous  matter  taken  from  the  lungs,  i)leura», 
and  lymphatic  glands  ;  milk  of  tuberculous  animals,  as  regards  its  cou- 
tagious  properties,  must  be  ])laced  near  to  tlie.se.  Infection  by  tuberculous 
matter  taken  from  man  is  less  certain  than  by  that  taken  from  animals. 

3.  Infection  is  less  certain  from  the  ingestion  ot  muscle  than  by  the 
substances  indicated  under  '2,  and  yet  it  ocouned  in  seventy-six  cases 
in  the  above  named  experiments. 

4.  Calves,  sheep,  goats,  and  swiue  i)reseut  the  greatest  susceptibility 
to  tubercular  contagion;  the  ])retended  immunity  of  carnivora  is  not  so 
pronounced  as  certain  authors  have  alleged, 

Gerlach  found  that  of  4G  animals  fed  raw  tuberculous  matter  35  be- 
came infected  ;  that  of  35  fed  raw  muscle  from  tuberculous  subjects  8 
becam<;  infected,  and  that  of  15  fed  cooked  tubercular  matter  10  were 
infected. 


166  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Bollinger  produced  tuberculosis  iu  pigs  by  prolonged  feeding  of  the 
milk  of  tuberculous  cows. 

The  subcutaneous  inoculations  of  Villemin  and  his  successors  were 
hotly  disputed  on  the  ground  that  they  gave  rise  to  Icvsions  analogous  to 
those  produced  by  inocculatiou  with  non-tubercular  matter.  These  were 
practicully  settled  by  the  intraocular  injection  of  white  rabbits  with 
tubercular  matter  by  Cohnheim,  Salomonsen,  Hansell,  Deutschmann, 
and  Baumgarten.  After  an  incubation  of  twenty  to  thirty  days  there 
appeared  in  the  pigmentless  eye  distinct  tubercular  nodules,  and  this  was 
followed  by  a  generalized  tuberculosis.  Baumgarten  develojied  tuber- 
culosis in  the  eye  by  injecting  the  blood  of  tuberculous  animal  infected 
by  inoculation.  In  test  experiments  with  the  blood  of  healthy  animals 
the  eyes  remained  sound;  w!ien  he  used  the  blood  of  septica^mic  patients 
intense  intiaiiimation  of  the  ey<^  ensued,  but  never  tuberculosis. 

Toussaint  found  the  tubercular  lung  products  of  cows  constantly  in- 
fecting to  rabbits  and  pigs  alter  they  had  been  subjected  to  55^  to  58° 
0.  in  a  water  bath,  and  even  after  they  had  been  roasted  like  a  beef- 
steak in  the  gas  tlame.  He  found  the  nasal  discharges,  the  saliva,  and 
the  urine  infecting,  and  as  already  noticeil  the  lymph  of  a  vaccine 
vesicle.     Ljdtin  concludes : 

Tb.at  tuberculosis  is  contagious,  like  glanders  or  lung  plague,  and  that  contagiou 
fills  a  more  important  role  than  heredity  in  the  propagation  of  the  disease. 

As  showing  the  identity  of  tuberculosis  iu  man  and  animals,  Koch's 
demonstration  of  the  bacillus  tuberculosis  must  occup3'  a  prominent 
place.  The  disease  had  already  been  proved  a  hereditary  and  an  infec- 
tious one,  and  this  organism,  found  in  the  growing  tubercle  of  man  and 
animal  alike,  suggests  itself  at  once  as  the  morbitic  germ.  It  is  found 
alone  and  unmixed  with  any  micrococcus,  in  deep  seated  tubercles,  which 
have  had  no  exposure  to  the  air,  while  in  sputa,  vomicje,  and  other 
tubercular  products  exposed  to  the  air  a  multiplicity  of  other  organisms 
abound.  In  all  cases  f»f  rapidly  growing  tubercles  the  bacillus  is  present 
in  great  numbers,  while  in  those  of  slow  formation  they  are  scanty. 
These  bacilli  have  a  length  of  half  the  diameter  of  a  red  blood  globule 
and  a  breadth  of  one-fifth  of  their  length  ;  they  are  motionless  and  form 
spores  within  the  body  even  during  the  life  of  the  animal. 

After  many  attempts  Koch  succeeded  in  procuring  a  pure  culture  in 
blood  serum  of  cow  or  sheep  in  a  preparation  of  gelatine,  on  which  the 
bacillus  appears  as  fine  scales  at  the  end  of  two  weeks.  Thej"  grow  so 
slowly  that  it  is  only  at  the  end  of  the  third  or  fourth  week  that  the  mass 
attains  the  size  of  a  poppy  seed.  It  does  not  develo])  save  at  a  temper- 
ature of  3(P  to  41°  C  These  peculiarities  of  culture  identify  the  para- 
site. 

Tlie  bacillus,  whether  derived  from  the  tubercle  of  man  or  that  of  ani- 
mals, always  shows  the  same  form  and  the  same  habits  during  culture, 
and  on  inoculation  has  produced  the  same  pathological  lesions,  imply- 
ing the  essential  identity  of  the  two. 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        167 

By  numerous  carefully  controlled  experiments  Koch  has  proved  that 
it  is  impossible  to  produce  the  typical  alterations  of  miliary  tubercu- 
losis by  the  inoculation  of  other  matters  than  the  bacilli;  in  these  ex- 
periments he  has  taken  all  necessary  precautions  to  avoid  confusion 
with  spontaneous  tuberculosis,  and  to  exclude  all  infection  from  any 
accidental  source  of  the  subjects  on  which  he  operated.  He  concludes 
that  the  presence  of  the  bacillus  in  the  tuberculous  masses  is  not  a  sim- 
ple concomitant  of  the  tuberculous  process,  but  the  cause,  and  that  we 
must  recognize  in  the  bacilli  the  cause  of  tuberculosis,  hitherto  unsus- 
pected, but  now  evident  in  the  form  of  a  vegetable  parasite. 

Koch  has  found  this  parasite  in  all  forms  of  scrofula  and  tubercle  in 
man  and  animals,  and  in  109  inoculated  subjects  (rabbits,  guinea  pigs, 
and  cats)  in  the  nodosities  of  the  lungs. 

Add  to  this  that  Villemin  and  Klebs  have  demonstrated  that  the 
tubercle  of  man,  on  inoculation,  produces  phthisis  pulmonalis  in  ani- 
mals, and  that  this  inoculated  iihthisis  is  transmissible  by  inoculation 
to  other  animals. 

Johne  mentions  a  case  of  snccesstul  inoculation  of  tubercle  from 
man  to  man,  and  Staug  a  case  of  the  accidental  infection  of  the  sou  of 
healthy  parents  by  habitual  drinking  of  the  warm  milk  of  a  tubercu- 
lous cow. 

Another  argument  in  favor  of  the  identity  of  the  disease  in  man  and 
animals  is  the  perfect  analogy  of  the  disease  as  regards  heredity  and 
contagion  in  the  two. 

The  heredity  in  man  is  shown  by  the  presence  of  the  disease  in  the 
fetal  offspring  of  tuberculous  parents.  Walshe  records  the  frequency 
of  abortion  and  sterility  in  tuberculous  patients.  The  doctrine  of  the 
contagion  of  tuberculosis  in  man  has  been  sustained  by  Galen,  Norton, 
Swieten,  Home,  Maret,  and  many  later  observers.  Instances  are 
quoted  of  infection  through  clothes  and  beds,  and  from  husband  to 
wife.  Wichmann,  in  1780,  said  that  one  death  in  six  in  the  population 
of  Zurich  was  from  tuberculosis,  and  details  the  different  channels  of 
direct  and  indirect  contagion,  going  so  far  as  to  advocate  a  sui)ervision 
of  the  sale  of  old  bedding  and  clothing.  CuUen,  at  the  same  date? 
speaks  of  its  ])ropagating  itself  most  readily  in  the  warm  climates  of 
Southern  Enrojje,  where  (Italy,  Portugal)  to  the  present  day  the  cloth- 
ing, bedding,  and  other  agents  used  about  a  person  deceased  of  phthisis 
are  invariably  destroyed.     Lydtin  con(;ludes  : 

1.  That  tnbercnlnsis  has  lieon  observed  in  all  warm-blooded  animals  submitted  to 
domestication  or  deprived  of  their  liberty. 

2.  Tnbercnlosis  of  animals  and  of  man  present  analogons  manifestations  in  the  liv- 
ing and  in  the  cadaver. 

3.  The  course  and  termination  of  the  two  maladies  are  the  same  in  man  and  animals^ 

4.  The  tubercular  masses,  and,  above  all,  the  expectoration  of  phthisical  men  de- 
termines tuberculosis  in  animals  when  these  masses  are  introduced  into  the  latter  by 
the  respiratory  or  digestive  api)aratus,  or  by  a  deep  wound.  Tuberculosis  inoculated 
from  man  to  aninuils  can  be  thenceforward  transmitted  from  one  animal  to  another, 
producing  in  all  cases  tuberculosis. 


168  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

5.  Tuberculosis  in  man  and  iu  animals  is  tiausinitted  by  heredity', 
(i.  Tuberculosis  is  contagious  to  man  as  it  is  to  animals. 

7.  There  are  clinical  observations  proving  the  transmissiini  of  tuberculosis  from 
aniuuils  to  man  tlirougli  tbe  use  of  the  milk  of  phthisical  animals. 

8.  Tuberculosis  of  man  and  that  of  animals  are  rare  in  the  cold  climates,  and  even 
appear  not  to  be  developed.  They  are  more  frequent  in  warm  climates;  the  geo- 
graphical distribution  of  the  two  maladies  is  almost  the  same. 

9.  It  is  demonstrated  that  a  i>athogenic  microbe  having  the  same  morphological  and 
biological  characters,  exists  in  the  tnbercle  of  man  and  iu  that  of  animals.  This  or- 
ganism, whether  developed  in  man  or  animals,  can  produce  tuberculosis  when,  culti- 
vated in  a  state  of  purity,  it  is  transmitted  to  a  susceptible  auimal. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  tuberculosis  iu  animals  tends  to  con- 
centration in  the  large  dairies  and  feeding  establishments  which  supply 
the  great  (!enters  of  population.  The  farmer,  watching  closely  the  ani- 
mals he  has  owiu^d  since  their  birth,  is  led,  by  the  instinct  of  self  pro- 
tection, to  sell  oft"  those  that  show  symptous  of  failing,  and  these  usually 
go  to  the  large  establishments  near  the  cities,  there  to  be  crowded  in 
close  buildings  with  many  others,  to  which  they  in  turn  convey  the  in- 
fection. If  iu  a  dairy,  these  supply  milk  for  the  i^opulation  at  large, 
including  the  susceptible  infants  and  invalids,  and  finally  all  or  nearly 
all  of  such  animals  find  their  way  to  the  butcher's  stall,  when  they  can 
no  longer  be  utilized  for  other  purposes. 

(To  show  that  America  is  no  better  than  Europe  iu  this  respect,  it  may 
be  stated  that  130  per  cent,  of  the  adult  males  dying  in  New  York  City 
are  tuberculous,  ar.d  that  in  certain  of  the  herds  that  supply  that  city 
with  milk,  20,  30,  and  even  50  per  cent,  are  affected  with  the  same  dis- 
ease. In  some  country  districts  of  New  York  can  be  shown  large  huads 
■with  00  per  cent,  the  subjects  of  tuberculosis.  Were  all  the  known  facts 
published  concerning  the  ratio  of  tuberculosis  in  certain  communities 
and  in  the  lierds  supplying  their  meat  and  milk,  there  would  be  a  tes- 
timony far  more  telling  than  even  the  striking  example  of  New  York 
City.  One  stands  appalled  at  the  immensity  of  this  evil,  covering  as  it 
does  the  entire  country,  threatening  at  every  step  the  health  of  the 
community,  and  crying  loudly  for  ledress.) — J.  L. 

Nothing  has  as  yet  been  said  as  to  the  propagation  of  tuberculosis 
from  man  to  animals.  In  the  large  stables  adjoining  cities  the  feeding 
of  products  from  the  kitchens,  mixed  with  excretions  of  man,  doubtless 
contributes  to  this,  and  the  contrast  of  the  frequency  of  tuberculosis 
among  these  and  its  absence  amojig  the  wild  oxen  of  Hungary  suggests 
the  importance  of  such  a  factor. 

PREVENTIVE  MEASURES  CALCULATED  TO  CHECK  THE  EVIL  RESULT- 
INlr  FROM  'JHE  CONSUMPTION  OF  THE  MILK  AND  FLESH  OF  TU- 
BERCULOUS   ANIMALS. 

Lydtin  refers  to  the  law  of  Moses,  under  which  the  pining  (diirre 
Schwinden)  aniiiu^l  could  not  be  eaten;  to  the  Mischna,  whi(;h  expressly 
condemns  carcasses  the  lungs  of  which  cannot  be  intiated,  or  have  at- 
tached growths;  to  the  continuation  of  this  law  among  Christians  until 
the  third  century;  to  th<^  Ilouian  masters  of  markets  (anliles),  who  saw 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        169 

that  bad  and  corrupt  meat  was  thrown  into  the  Tiber;  to  the  church 
law  published  in  the  tenth  centnry  against  the  consumption  of  diseased 
meat ;  to  the  ancient  laws  of  Italy,  France,  Spain,  and  Germany  against 
the  sale  of  diseased  meat,  and  to  tlie  more  modern  statutes  on  the  same 
subject.  He  quotes  from  Ziickert  (1775)  the  case  of  the  deatli  of  twelve 
students  from  eating  the  flesh  of  cows  of  which  the  viscera  were  cov- 
ered with  a  great  number  of  vesicles,  tubercular  nodules,  and  purulent 
tumors.  In  furnishing  such  meat  for  the  soldiers  a  French  butcher  was, 
in  1716,  condemned  to  nine  years'  exile,  a  tine  of  £5,000,  and  permanent 
prohibition  from  engaging  again  in  the  same  trade. 

A  German  law  of  173li  imposed  a  penalty  of  50  rix  thalers,  with  the 
addition,  in  certain  cases,  of  corporal  punishment  for  the  sale  of  such 
meat  or  for  evading  its  inspection.  About  1704  the  doctrine  of  the  iden- 
tity of  tuberculosis  and  syphilis  was  contested  by  Zink,  Euhling,  Heim, 
Graumann,  and  Zwierlein,  and  the  German  law  was  abrogated  while 
that  of  Lower  Austria  was  moditied  so  as  to  condemn  only  advanced 
cases.  In  Southern  Germany,  Austria,  and  Switzerland  the  meat  of 
tuberculous  animals  has  always  been  more  or  less  forbidden.  In  the 
main,  however,  it  is  only  advanced  cases,  those  with  jirolound  and  ex- 
tensive lesions,  that  have  been  condemned.  The  same  has  been  the 
case  for  France  and  Belgium.  France  was  the  first,  in  1810,  to  abolish 
private  slaughter  houses  in  large  and  medium  sized  cities,  and  to  intro- 
duce that  essential  condition  of  all  effective  inspection — muuicipal  abat- 
toirs. Later  this  has  been  adopted  by  nearly  all  the  cities  of  Europe 
and  a  thorough  inspection  rendered  possible. 

Cooking  of  diseased  meat  in  general  was  held  by  Payen,  Renault, 
and  others  to  render  it  innocuous.  Its  value  as  regards  tubercular  prod- 
ucts was  first  investigated  by  Gerlach,  who  also  led  in  the  inquiry  as 
to  the  danger  from  the  different  portions  of  a  tubercular  system.  He 
found  that  the  morbific  matter  resided  mainly  in  the  tubercle,  from 
which  it  spread  slowly  along  the  lymphatics  to  the  next  lymphatic 
gland,  and  then  still  along  the  same  vessels  to  more  distant  glands 
and  finally  it  became  generally  distributed.  He  further  attached  much 
importance  to  the  multiplicity  of  caseous  centers,  especially  in  the 
lungs,  as  the  breaking  down  of  the  nodosities  as  well  as  the  extension 
and  increase  in  numbers  of  the  tubercles  imjjly  a  greater  danger  of  the 
contamination  of  the  flesh.  Emaciation  is  another  indication  of  the 
general  action  of  the  poison.  A  very  advanced  condition  of  any  one  of 
these  morbid  states  should  forbid  the  use  of  the  flesh  as  food. 

The  A'eterinary  Council  of  Germany  (1875)  and  the  J>ei-lin  Veterinary 
School  (1878)  respectively  pronounced  on  the  subject  with  great  reserve, 
virtually  holding  the  matter  still  siih  judice.  .rohne  held  that  the  mere 
extension  of  tuberculosis  from  the  first  seat  to  the  neiahboriug  lym- 
phatic glands  did  not  imply  unwholesomeness  in  the  flesh,  and  that  it 
was  only  requisite  in  such  cases  to  cut  out  the  tubercles,  enlarged  or  dis- 
eased glan<1s  and  adjacent  coniie(;tive  tissue.     lie  pronounced  tiie  flesh 


170  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

as  dangerous  when  the  extended  lesions  implied  an  infection  of  the 
blood;  when,  for  example,  from  primary  deposits  elsewhere  there  are 
resulting  tubercles  in  lungs  or  pleura).  Zundel,  basing  his  opinion  on 
the  failure  of  Koch  to  find  the  bacillus  in  any  part  save  in  the  tubercu- 
lar centers,  concludes  that  no  meat  should  be  condemned  except  that 
furnished  by  animals  emaciated  and  thoroughly  infected. 

That  measures  protective  of  the  public  health  should  be  taken  is  in- 
disputable. The  demands  of  those  who  demanded  new  experiments 
have  now  been  realized.  The  ex[)eriments  demanded  have  been  re- 
peated, and  when  practiced  with  all  needful  precautions  have  given  posi- 
tive results.  The  bacillus  of  tuberculosis  has  been  isolated,  cultivated, 
and  transmitted  by  inoculation,  and  whatever  the  soil  from  which  it 
has  been  transplanted  (man,  animals,  gelatine  preparations,  «&c.),  it  has 
always  determined  the  development  of  true  tuberculosis  in  the  inocu- 
lated animals,  and  this  tuberculosis  has  proved  transmissible  from  one 
inoculated  animal  to  another.  Tuberculous  meat  is  certainly  infecting. 
How,  then,  can  we  protect  the  community  against  its  effects'?  One 
says  :  by  thorough  cooking ;  another,  by  confiscating  the  diseased  meat. 

While  the  boiling  temperainre  is  destructive  of  the  tuberculous  bacil- 
lus we  cannot  rely  on  meat  being  heated  to  this  temperature.  In  North 
and  Middle  German}-  people  continue  to  eat  raw  meat,  notwithstanding 
the  frequent  outbreaks  of  tuberculosis.  Again,  in  ordinary  cooking 
the  center  of  the  meat  often  remains  below  212°  F.,  the  color  of  the 
blood  indeed  frequently  persists.  The  proposal  to  sell  this  meat  only 
in  separate  stalls  at  a  low  price,  so  that  the  purchasers  would  be  warned 
to  cook  it  thoroughly,  would  be  inetiectual,  as  it  would  not  change  the 
general  habit  of  cooking,  and  above  all  it  would  furnish  no  safeguard 
against  its  careless  iireparation  in  public  institutions  and  elsewhere 
where  it  is  used  on  a  large  scale. 

Confiscation,  applied  to  all  cases,  would  be  far  more  effectual,  and 
with  competent  inspectors  this  could  be  carried  out;  but  in  practice  it 
is  surrounded  by  numerous  dififlculties.  Diagnosis  is  easy,  and  with  a 
single  municipal  abattoir  all  cases  should  be  detected,  but  it  is  found 
that  all  the  infected  do  not  come  to  such  abattoirs.  In  Baden  20  per 
cent,  of  these  are  killed  elsewhere.  An  attempt  to  apply  the  law 
stringently  in  Mannheim  resulted  in  an  organized  eflbrt  to  thwart  the 
officers  of  justice.  Stock  owners  refused  to  sell  to  the  city  butchers  un- 
less relieved  of  all  responsibility  as  to  the  soundness  of  the  animals,  and 
the  butchers  declined  to  use  the  city  abattoir  and  insisted  on  handling 
only  dead  meat  which  had  been  killed  outside.  The  opposition  even 
extended  to  the  consumers,  on  whom  the  price  had  been  raised,  and  the 
vigorous  measures  were  finally  abandoned. 

If  the  difficulty  is  met  by  inspection  of  herds  a  considerable  expense 
will  be  inciurred  and  other  objections  invoked.  In  short,  a  sound  public 
spirit  is  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  any  really  ettective  work. 

Another  difficulty  arises  from  the  degree  of  infection.    If  all  tubercu- 


1 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        171 

Ions  carcasses  are  seized  the  way  is  plaiu,  but  if  a  selection  must  be 
made  disputes  will  constantly  arise  over  the  interminable  shades  of  dif- 
ference in  the  various  subjects.  The  delicacy  of  the  question  to  be 
pronounced  upon  in  these  cases  would  demand  for  each  commune  a  vet- 
erinarian exclusively  devoted  to  the  work  of  inspection,  but  this  would 
add  considerably  to  the  expense  incurred. 

Turninjjto  milk,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  boiling  would  give  the  re- 
quired guarantee  of  safety  ;  but  in  the  milk-cure  establishments  and 
where  this  liquid  is  produced  for  infants,  it  is  sought  fresh  and  used 
without  boiling,  and  yet  these  places  seek  for  the  heaviest  milkers,  and 
often  secure  tuberculous  cows.  For  these,  and  indeed  for  all  dairies, 
there  should  be  a  State  control  of  the  milch  animals  and  their  products. 

In  the  present  state  of  ])ublic  oi:)inion  it  may  be  impossible  to  apply 
measures  that  will  be  really  effective  in  preventing  the  sale  and  use  of 
tuberculous  meat  and  milk,  yet,  where  already  applied,  the  preventive 
measures  have  proved  so  beneficial  that  we  must  advocate  their  main- 
tenance and  extension.  It  is  encouraging  to  know  that  public  opinion 
is  gnining  on  this  matter,  so  that  ere  long  more  effective  measures  will 
be  sustained. 

The  present  difficulty  resides  in  the  inevitable  imperfection  of  any 
control  of  meat  and  milk  by  themselves,  and  that  any  i)ermanent  sur- 
veillance of  the  cattle  without  the  concurrence  of  the  owners  will  fur- 
nish no  guarantee  commensurate  with  the  gravity  of  the  danger. 

The  difliculties  of  the  case  will  be  largely  met  if  the  State  icill  deal 
uith  iubcrailosis  in  animals  as  ivith  other  contagious  diseases.  The  owner, 
well  accustomed  to  the  effects  of  the  disease  and  practiced  in  weeding 
out  the  consumption  and  sending  them  to  market,  can  be  called  upon 
to  report  all  cases  to  the  authority.  The  veterinarian  can  easily'  diag- 
nose the  disease,  or  in  the  few  uncertain  cases  can  decide  positively  at 
the  autopsy.  He  can  further,  as  in  the  case  of  glanders,  maintain  a 
prolonged  surveillance  over  the  inmates  of  that  stable,  and  above  all 
on  those  related  by  proximity  or  by  blood  to  the  animal  slaughtered. 
Thorough  disinfection  of  stables,  utensils,  clothing  of  attendants,  &c., 
can  be  carried  out.  If  the  great  majority  of  a  herd  are  infected,  the 
apparently  sound  may  be  taken  to  another  building.  The  diseased  and 
suspected  njay  be  slaughtered  at  once  or  after  a  few  weeks'  fattening. 
The  sale  of  the  milk  and  flesh  of  all  tuberculous  animals  should  be  for- 
bidden. Finiilly  the  owner  can  be  indemnified  for  every  beast  confis- 
cated. This  alone  will  secure  the  (;o  operation  of  the  owner,  without 
which  all  efforts  will  be  very  partial  and  imperfect. 

In  view  of  the  insidious  progress  of  the  disease  it  is  desirable  even  to 
furnish  an  indemnity  for  the  carcass  of  an  animal  found  to  be  diseased 
after  slaughter.  This  will  do  more  to  check  the  clandestine  sale  of 
tuberculous  meat  than  the  most  rigid  administrative  control  of  the 
abattoir  and  butchei^'s  stall. 

This  indemnity  will  remove  all  injurious  pressure  from  the  veterinary 


172  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

iiispexjtor,  and  enable  biin  to  deciide  M'ith  a  safe  margin  what  meat  and 
milk  can  be  sent  to  market  without  injury  to  human  health. 

The  indemnity  may  be  a  tax  on  the  State,  on  the  commune,  or  on  the 
stock  owners  and  butchers  who  will  eventually  profit  most  by  the  sup- 
pression of  the  disease. 

ACTION   OI'   THE   CONGRESS. 

On  account  of  the  short  time  available  for  the  consideration  of  the 
question,  Weheukel  opposed  any  action  at  the  present  congress,  but 
Quivogne,  Larmet,  Aune,  Kossignol,  and  Bouley  urged  a  decision  of 
the  (juestiou,  "  Ik  tchat  cases  can  the  meat  be  used  for  food  ?  "  This  was 
agreed  to. 

Lydtin  furnished  a  resume  of  his  report  and  concluded  by  presenting 
paragraph /of  his  resolution  for  the  acceptance  of  congress. 

Bouley  held  that  one  of  the  most  difficult  questions  in  practice  was 
what  an  inspector  should  do  with  the  carcass  of  a  tuberculous  beast. 
It  is  established  that  tuberculosis  is  a  malady  dangerous  to  the  animals 
which  are  able  to  contract  ir,  not  only  by  the  respiratory  passages,  but 
also  by  ingestion  into  the  stomach  and  by  inoculation  in  any  part  of 
the  system.  He  referred  to  Toussaint's  experiments  of  which  the  re- 
sults were  frightful.  The  tuberculous  element  did  not  riside  only  in 
the  tul)erculous  lesions,  but  is  diffused  through  all  the  tissues.  The 
juice  of  the  tiesh  of  a  tuberculous  animal,  even  after  it  had  been  heated 
to  50°  or  60°  Cent.,  that  is  the  temperature  of  roasting  beef,  has  j)roved 
virulent  for  the  ox,  pig,  cat,  rabbit,  &c.,  even  when  given  otdy  in  a 
virulent  dose,  a  small  dose  ;  large  doses  are  not  necessary.  Consider- 
ing the  facts  in  this  light  we  ought  to  establish  no  degrees  in  tubercu- 
losis; when  it  exists  it  renders  the  consumption  of  the  flesh  dangerous. 
He  is  convinced  that  tuberculosis,  whatever  maybe  its  degree,  should 
entail  the  ccmdemnation  of  the  meat;  it  can  only  be  utilized  if  well 
cooked. 

Tuberculosis  of  man  is  certainly  contagious,  as  is  known  to  all  the 
world,  being  jirineip  illy  transnntted  from  husband  to  wife.  The  disease 
is  very  widely  spread,  affecting  one-tilth  of  our  poi)ulation.  We  must 
look  to  butcher  meat  as  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  this  great  prev- 
alence of  tuberculosis;  it  is  probable  that  the  infection  enters  by  the 
digestive  passages  as  in  the  experiments  ot  the  laboratory.  He  con- 
cluded by  pr()i)osing  the  following  amendment: 

Tuberculosis  Ixjjiig  cxperinicutally  deiiioiislrjiti'd  ;is  ii  lu.-ilatlN  f raiisinissibli'  l).v  the 
digestive  canal  and  by  inoculation — 

Tlie  congress  declares  that  meat  provided  by  t  iibctculons  animals  should  be  excluded 
iVom  the  food  of  man,  whatever  may  be  the  stage  of  the  tuberculosis,  or  the  apparent 
qualities  of  the  meat. 

In  his  judgment,  stock  owners  should  be  indemnitied.  and  butchers 
urged  to  establisli  mutual  insurance  societies. 

Van  Hertsen  detinliMl  the  pra<*tice  in  the  Brussels  abattoirs,  long  in 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         173 

Uise,  and  wbicli  he  bad  set  forth  in  a  papev  laureated  by  the  Veterinary 
Society  of  Eure  and  Seine  in  1809.  He  seizes  all  lean  tnberculoiis  ani- 
mals, all  having  nnmerons  and  generalized  tubercles,  or  with  tubercles 
softened,  caseous  or  purulent,  lesions  which  create  the  suspicion  of  gen- 
eral infection  of  the  system.  When  their  lesions  are  gra\  e  ai:d  nndtiple, 
Avliatever  may  be  the  (juality  of  the  meat,  seizure  is  always  ordered ; 
when  the  tubercles  are  localized  and  recent,  and  pio\ided  the  carcass 
is  sufficiently  fat  to  guarantee  good  meat,  it  is  allowed  to  be  used.  As 
to  the  danger  from  unboiled  milk  he  had  with  Degive,  in  1S6S,  ]iresented 
a  paper  to  the  IJelgian  Acadeujy  of  Medicine  on  the  frecpuMicy  of  tubercle 
ill  tlie  mamime  of  cows,  but  the  academy  discarded  the  subject  without 
discussing  the  iinportant  question  of  hygiene  therein  presented  to  tliem. 

Wirz  i)roposed  an  amendment  of^in  Lydtin's  report,  that  in  jtlace  of 
"  to  a  very  small  part  of  the  body,  when  the  lymphatic  glands  are  still 
iice,'\K:c.,rcad  "to  but  a  small  part  of  the  thoracic  or  abdominal  viscera, 
win  n  the  lymphatic  glands  which  do  not  beh)ng  to  these  are  free,"  &c. 

Van  Hertsen  believes  that  tuberculosis  can  invade  the  lymphatic  sys- 
tem when  the  disease  is  yet  in  its  earliest  stage.  He  has  observed  that 
i  he  gland  situated  between  the  first  and  second  rib  is  tuberculous  eight 
times  out  often.  Tliis  gland  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  determin- 
ing the  quality  of  the  meat,  as  it  establishes  the  fact  of  tuberculosis 
without  the  necessity  of  examining  the  viscera.  It  serves  to  distinguish 
tuberculosis  from  bing  ])lague  in  carcasses  frotn  whicli  the  pleura-  has 
l)een  removed,  flic  chest  skinned,  as  the  butchers  say.  (This  gland  has 
I'cen  called  the  motive  (motif)  gland  of  the  inspector.) 

Lydtin  advocated  his  proposition  as  more  practicable  under  i)resent 
circumstances  than  Bouley's;  while  Bouley  called  for  the  ad voctuy  of 
thorough  measures,  their  administration  was  the  concern  of  the  au- 
tliorities. 

After  furtheianiendiiKMits  of  llossignol  and  Van  Hertsen,  paragraph 
/'  of  Lydtin  was  adopted,  several  members  declining  to  vote. 

Kossignol  proposed  to  amend  paragraph  //  by  omitting  the  last  sen- 
tcnce,  permitting  the  use  of  the  milk  after  boiling,  and  as  thus  amended 
it  was  adopted. 

Bonlcy  reffuested  a  vote  on  paragraph  A,  ofl'ering  the  following  modi- 
lii-ation  : 

It  is  j)r()[>('r  to  f'luiiisli  ;iii  iiKlciiinity  (or  cattle  in  ^ood  coiiditioii  foiiml  to  l)n  ttilicr- 
I  iilons  after  .slauglitei-. 

Bossignol  supported  an  indemnity  for  animals  in  good  condition,  but 
niily  when  kilh'd  for  human  food. 

.'Erts,  Wehtnkd,  and  Lydtin  opposed  on  tlie  ground  that  this  was 
only  a  question  of  goods  of  bad  ([uality,  the  use  of  which  for  a  pur[)ose 
I  <)  which  it  is  untitted  is  forbidden.  An  indemnity  should  only  be  given 
wlien  an  owner  must  give  up  his  chance  of  the  recovery  of  a  sick  animal 
ill  the  interest  of  the  public  good. 

As  a  ])rolonged  discussion  was  threatened  and  time,  pressed,  Miilh'r 


174         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

proposed  the  closure  of  the  question  which  had  already  exceeded  that 
proposed  for  the  order  of  the  day,  namely,  the  utilization  of  the  fesh. 
The  discussioD  was  accordingly  closed. 

A  paper  was  handed  in  signed  by  eleven  members  explaining  that 
thej'  had  declined  to  vote  on  tuberculosis  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  time 
to  suflSciently  discuss  such  an  important  subject. 

After  providing  for  the  next  international  veterinary  congress  to  be 
held  in  Paris,  the  meeting  adjourned. 

REMARKS. 

(The  import:)  uce  of  the  question  of  the  sale  of  meat  and  milk  from  tu- 
berculous animals  cannot  well  be  overrated.  But  to  control  the  former 
we  need  a  complete  reformation  of  our  syste  n  of  slaughter  in  the  large 
cities  and  villages.  One  municipal  abattoir  sliould  be  established  in 
each  great  center  of  population  where  alone  stock  should  be  slaughtered 
for  food  and  where  the  carcass  and  viscera  of  every  animal  slaughtered 
would  be  examined  by  a  competent  veterinary  insi^ector.  All  estab- 
lishments for  the  killing  of  meat  to  be  shipped  fresh  to  the  cities,  to  be 
salted  or  canned,  should  be  placed  under  similar  supervision.  Meatfrom 
uncontrolled  slaughter-houses  should  be  excluded.  ISo  far  as  we  know 
no  American  city  has  adopted  the  system  of  municipal  abattoir  and 
comi^lete  veterinary  inspection,  and  the  great  majority  have  neither. 
The  expense  would  be  (considerable,  though  only  a  trifle  as  compared 
with  that  caused  by  the  sicknesses,  incapacity,  and  death  now  occurring 
from  a  disease  which  affects  one  fifth  and  upward  of  the  population  in 
the  great  cities.  We  say  nothing  of  the  other  contagious  diseases  from 
which  this  measure  would  protect  the  people.  With  regard  to  the  milk 
supply  there  should  be  frequent  visitation  of  the  dairies  sui)plyiug  the 
large  cities,  the  maintenance  of  a  census  of  the  animals,  and  an  inspec- 
tion by  a  competent  veterinarian  of  all  cadavers  of  animals  killed  or 
dying  by  natural  cause.  Not  only  would  this  protect  the  human  popu- 
lation against  infection  through  the  milk,  but  it  would  overcome  the 
l)resent  great  difficulty  in  dealing  with  the  lung  jjlague,  which  would 
thus  be  traced  to  every  center  of  infection  and  could  easily  be  stamped  • 
out.  The  question  of  the  suppression  of  this  disease  over  the  entire 
national  doniain  is  by  no  means  such  an  easy  one;  the  task  is  so  gigantic 
and  the  outlay  w^ould  be  so  vast.  In  many  herds  in  the  Eastern  States 
the  proportion  of  tuberculous  animals  ranges  from  10  to  30  per  cent.,  and 
in  the  West  with  freer  range  it  is  doubtless  far  less  frequent,  yet  if  we 
were  to  estimate  but  one  infected  animal  in  thirty  it  would  embrace  over 
a  million  cattle  and  one  and  a  half  million  hogs.  Iiulemnities  alone  for 
this  number  would  amount  to  from  $30,000,000  to  $40,000,000,  to  say 
nothing  of  all  contingent  expenses.  That  it  would  pay  in  the  single 
item  of  the  preservation  of  our  live  stock  there  can  be  no  doubt,  while  "J 
its  ettect  on  the  health  of  the  population  would  be  beyond  all  estimate.  ' 
To  the  professional  man,  fully  acipiainted  with  the  enormity  of  the  evil, 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         175 

it  is  hard  to  wait  for  the  slow  growth  of  public  opinion  whilo  infancy 
and  manhood  are  being  cut  down  indiscrin)inately  by  a  preventable  con- 
tagion, and  while  even  he  himself  must  continually  run  the  gauntlet  of 
the  deadly  blow  of  the  insatiate  enemy.  Every  instinct  of  sanitation, 
of  justice,  of  humanity,  of  self-preservation,  and  of  morality  rebels  against 
the  inditt'erence  of  the  people,  but  more  particularly  of  the  statesmen. 
But  it  is  with  tuberculosis  for  animals  in  general  as  with  lung  plague 
for  cattle  in  particular,  or  with  glanders  for  solipeds  and  man,  the  retri- 
bution for  neglect  is  not  executed  with  that  promptitude  which  strikes 
terror  to  the  mind  ;  the  laity  fail  to  connect  the  final  desolation  with 
the  distant  cause,  and  the  most  deadly  of  all  contagia  is  permitted  to 
hold  on  its  darksome  way  unchecked. 

A  single  case  of  cholera,  yellow  fever,  or  even  of  small  pox  in  a  large 
city  is  considered  good  cause  for  excited  editorials  in  the  newspapers 
and  for  extraordinary  etforts  on  the  part  of  boards  of  health,  while 
every  daj^  from  January  to  December  scores  are  perishing  unnecessarily 
from  the  more  insidious  and  far  more  deadly  tuberculosis. 

The  control  of  this  affection  cannot  be  advocated  as  either  cheap  or 
easy,  or  likely  to  be  crowned  by  an  early  extinction  of  the  disease  as 
would  be  the  case  with  lung  plague.  It  will  entail  an  immense  organ- 
ization, large  expenditure,  and  persistent  application,  not  only  until  all 
our  flocks  and  herds  are  purified,  but  until  the  present  tuberculous  gen- 
eration of  men  have  given  place  to  a  healthier,  and  until  by  a  slow  im- 
provement, generation  by  generation,  the  population  shall  have  finally 
risen  above  this  bane  of  our  civilization.  It  is,  however,  a  work  that 
may  be  profitably  undertaken  by  installments,  first  in  the  abattoirs  and 
dairies  of  our  large  cities  and  suburbs,  then  in  our  markets  for  live  stock, 
and  our  great  emporia  for  butcher  meat,  then  in  all  our  large  public  in- 
stitutions, and  finally  in  our  flocks  and  herds  at  large.  It  may  safely  be 
predicted  for  the  city  that  will  take  the  first  effectual  step  in  this  direc- 
tion that  the  showing  made  by  her  vital  statistics  will  soon  attest  the 
wisdom  of  the  course.  The  results  will  be  no  less  beneficial  to  the  stock 
owner,  for  apart  from  the  protection  of  his  own  health  and  the  assur- 
ance furnished  him  that  he  is  providing  a  wholesome  food  for  the  people, 
his  herds  will  be  saved  from  a  contagion  which  now  causes  incalculable 
losses  over  the  entire  country. 

Upon  our  statesmen  the  burden  of  all  this  responsibilitj'  rests.  They 
are  intrusted  with  the  expenditure  of  the  nation's  money,  and  with  this 
trust  they^^become  severally  resi)onsible  for  every  evil  which  it  is  in  their 
power  to  ward  off".  To  wait  for  the  irresistible  pressure  of  public  oj^in- 
ion  in  a  matter  such  as  this,  which  ai)peals  so  strongly  to  their  hunum- 
ity,  their  religion,  their  patriotism,  and  self-preservation,  is  unworthy 
of  the  high  i)lace  they  hold  and  the  charge  which  the  i)e()i)le  have  con- 
fided to  them.  They  have  been  chosen  to  do  the  work  of  legislation  for 
which  the  people  at  large  have  no  time ;  it  is  theirduty  to  consider  these 
matters  when  laid  before  them  and  to  acton  them,  and  on  them  must  rest 


176  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

all  the  blame  of  the  deaths  and  dissasters  that  result  from  their  ai)athy 
and  neglect.) — -1.  L. 

k,j:solutions  adopted. 

First  question. —  Vcterinari/  scrrive. 

1.  Tooiganizeiri  each  conntrya  veterinary  service,  exclusively  charged 
with  all  that  pertains  to  this  service,  of  which  the  members,  all  veter- 
inarians, should  be  counselors  of  every  department  of  the  Government, 
but  which  should  be  more  especially  represented  inclose  relation  to  the 
central  power;  that  veterinary  medicine  should  there  have  her  chief  of 
service. 

2.  The  veterinary  sanitary  service  should  utilize  the  greatest  i)ossible 
number  of  veterinarians.  It  embraces  the  surveillance  of  fairs  and 
markets  of  aninuils  ;  the  inspection  of  butcher  meat  and  abattoirs  ;  the 
control  of  rendering  works ;  the  inspection  of  breeding  animals ;  the 
surveillance  or  direction  of  mutual  assurance  against  the  mortality  of 
stock  ;  the  revision  of  the  census  lists  of  domestic  animals,  «&c. ;  it  com- 
prehends the  service  of  the  state,  and  may  be  nmde  international,  em- 
bracing especially  the  repression  and  suppression  of  contagious  and 
ejMzootic;  affections,  also  the  control  of  the  various  other  veterinary 
services. 

3.  Between  the  various  states  which,  by  a  regular  repressive  and 
preventive  service  against  epizootics,  can  furnish  guarantees  of  a  good 
veterinary  sanitary  police,  there  should  be  established  a  treaty  having 
for  its  object — 

{a)  To  apprise  the  other  states  as  speedily  as  possible  of  any  out- 
break of  rinderpest,  pleuro-i)neumonia,  aphthous  fever,  sheep-pox,  mal- 
adie  du  coit,  glanders  (or  farcy),  or  of  scab  in  sheep. 

{b)  To  publish  periodically  a  sanitary  bulletin  upon  these  maladies, 
their  extent,  progress,  and  extinction,  which  particulars  should  also  be 
published  in  the  international  bulletin  if  Judged  necessary. 

(c)  To  oppose  these  maladies  by  measures  of  sanitary  police,  which 
have  first  been  discussed  and  adopted  as  the  most  desirable. 

{(l)  To  furnish  with  animals  and  herds,  moved  into  or  out  of  any 
territory,  certificates  of  origin  and  health  of  a  value  guaranteed  by  the 
administration. 

(e)  To  contribute  to  the  i)ublication  of  an  international  veterinary 
sanitary  bulletin. 

Second  question. — Fleuro-pneunionia. —  Lung plarjue. 

A. — DiFFF.RKNTlAL    OIACiNOSIK. 

1.  From  an  anatomical  point  of  view,  at  least  in  its  relation  to  veter- 
inary police,  one  maj^  consider  as  epizootic  contagious  pleuro-pneu- 
monia;  every  pneumonia  which  is  lobular  and  at  the  same  time  inter- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OP    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         177 

lobular,  and  the  development  of  wbicU  does  not  depend  on  traumatic 
causes. 

2.  From  a  physiological  standpoint  in  the  living  animal,  epizootic 
contagious  pleuropneumonia  is  specially  characterized  by  its  conta- 
gious character  and  by  the  symptoms  of  lobular  pneumonia. 

3.  In  an  infected  place  every  animal  which  shows  febrile  reaction  or 
symptoms  of  disease  of  the  chest  should  be  considered  as  suspected  of 
pleuropneumonia.  Every  animal  found  in  an  infected  stable  or  which 
has  been  in  one  within  three  montlis  antecedent,  or  which  has  been  able 
to  be  contaminated  in  any  other  way,  should  be  considered  as  suspected 
of  contamination. 

B. — Prophylaxis. 

1.  Recognizing  that  from  the  point  of  view  of  sanitary  police  epizo- 
otic i)leuro-pneumonia  is  a  disease  which  propagates  itself  only  by  con- 
tagion, and  is  usually  incurable  and  fatal,  the  congress  declared  that  to 
prevent  the  development  and  i)ropagation  of  this  malady  there  should 
be  applied  the  measures  against  contagious  diseases  that  are  at  the 
same  time  fatal  and  incurable. 

2.  Animals  diseased  or  suspected  of  the  disease  should  be  sacrificed 
as  quickly  as  possible. 

3.  Contaminated  animals  or  those  very  much  exposed  to  the  conta- 
gion should  be  isolated  or  sacrificed.  The  slaughter  of  contaminated 
animals  is  especially  indicated  when  the  disease  manifests  itself  very 
exceptionally,  or  for  the  first  time  in  a  stable  belonging  to  a  commune 
or  countrj'  ricli  in  cattle. 

•4.  We  have  to-day  experimental  proof  that  it  is  possible  to  invest  the 
organism  of  animals  of  the  horned  species  with  an  immunity  from  con- 
tagious pleuropneumonia  by  inoculation  with  the  virus  of  this  malady. 

5.  Preventive  inoculation,  that  is  to  say,  that  which  is  iiracticed  when 
the  malady  does  not  prevail  in  a  country,  ought  to  be  absolutely  re- 
iected.  Inoculation,  so  called,  of  necessity,  that  is  to  say,  that  which 
is  practiced  when  the  disease  exists  in  a  herd,  may  be  permitted  but 
not  made  obligatory. 

G.  The  inoculation  should  always  be  done  by  a  veterinarian. 

7.  It  is  not  proved  that  an  inoculated  animal  cannot  transmit  the  dis- 
ease to  a  sound  animal. 

8.  Inoculated  animals  should  be  reported  to  the  authorities. 

0.  (Quarantined  animals  should  be  made  the  object  of  a  special  census, 
and  should  receiv^e  a  distinctive  brand  with  a  hot  iron. 

10.  ^'o  animal  suspected  of  infection  should  be  moved  without  pre- 
vious authorization  of  the  communal  administration.  The  permit  to 
move  should  only  be  granted  for  animals  destined  to  the  butchery  ;  it 
should  only  take  i)lace  in  special  conditions  under  the  supervision  of 
the  police,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  all  propagation  of  the 
malady. 

5751  D  A V2 


178  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.  ^! 

11.  Every  bovine  animal  oflered  for  sale  ought  to  be  accompanied  ' 
by  a  certificate  of  health  testifying  that  no  epizootic  has  existed  for  at 
least  six  weeks  in  the  commune  from  which  it  came.  ^| 

12.  In  certain  special  cases,  to  be  determined  by  the  official  veteri- " 
narian,  there  may  be  prescribed  the  suspension  of  fairs  and  markets,  the 
prohibition  of  the  importation  of  animals  from  a  suspected  country, 
quarantine,  the  posting  of  notices  at  the  entrance  of  infected  circles  or 
farms,  and  the  issue  of  handbills  aud  instructions  warning  the  people 
of  their  obligations,  and  of  the  i^recautions  to  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
ai)pearance  or  extension  of  the  malady. 

13.  An  active  supervision  should  be  exerciseil,  not  only  over  the  quar- 
antined animals,  but  also,  «,  over  animals  exposed  for  sale  in  markets, 
fields,  and  fairs;  h,  over  animals  lodged  temporarily  in  the  stables  of  inns 
adjoining  the  markets;  c,  in  stables  containing  many  animals,  subject 
to  frequent  changes,  and  when  the  malady  has  already  made  one  or 
more  outbreaks. 

14.  The  duration  of  quarantine  should  be  six  months  at  least,  apart 
from  the  last  case  of  the  malady. 

15.  At  the  release  from  quarantine  the  animals  should  receive  a  second 
mark  to  annul  the  effect  of  the  first. 

16.  The  flesh  of  an  animal  slaughtered  should  not  be  used  for  food, 
unless  authorized  by  the  veterinarian  making  the  autopsy. 

17.  The  skin  should  not  be  utilized  until  it  has  been  steeped  for  twenty- 
four  hours  in  an  approved  disinfectant  solution.  _ 

18.  Carcasses  aud  cadaveric  debris,  unfit  for  food,  should  be  buried, 
or  so  treated  as  to  be  absolutely  inoffensive. 

19.  Stables,  fair  grounds,  markets,  and  vehicles  which  have  been  oc- 
cupied by  diseased  or  suspected  animals,  should  be  carefully  cleansed, 
disinfected,  and  purified.  These  different  operations  should  be  under 
the  direction  of  a  veterinarian. 

20.  A  stable  should  not  be  refilled  with  animals  until  it  has  been  en- 
tirely evacuated  and  thoroughly  disinfected,  and  then  purified  by  eight 
days  of  free  ventilation. 

21.  Pastures  that  have  been  occujued  by  diseased  animals  ought  to 
be  quarantined  for  at  least  fifteen  days. 

22.  The  diiiereut  materials,  objects,  and  instruments  that  have  been 
employed  in  the  slaughter,  transportation,  or  burial  of  diseased  or  sus- 
pected animals,  should  be  destroyed,  or  thoroughly  disinfected.  Forage 
and  litter  should  be  utilized  for  horses  or  other  solipeds. 

23.  Persons  who  have  become  soiled  by  infecting  materials,  should 
wash  their  hands,  wash  or  brush  their  clothes,  and  wash  their  boots 
with  a  disinfectant  solution. 

24.  All  i)er,sons  and  animals  capable  of  carrying  the  virus  should  as 
far  as  possible  be  kei)t  from  diseased  animals,  their  carcasses  aud  ca- 
daveric debris. 

25.  It  is  proper  to  grant  an  indemnity  to  owners  for  animals  slaugh- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        179 

tered  by  official  order  aud  for  the  cost  of  disinfection.  The  indemnity 
should  amount  to  four-fifths  of  the  vakie  of  the  animal,  and  to  the  full 
value,  deduction  being  made  of  the  value  of  portions  ot  the  carcass 
that  can  be  utilized  if  the  animal  should  prove  healthy. 

26.  Very  heavy  penalties  should  be  imposed  on  i)ersons  w  ho  violate 
the  different  sanitary  regulations  decreed  by  the  authorities. 

27.  A  good  organization  of  the  veterinary  service  is  the  best  guaran- 
tee of  the  ajiplication  of  the  different  measures  prescribed. 

28.  A  last  and  potent  measure  for  securing  the  extinction  of  conta- 
gious pleuro-imeumonia  would  be  the  adoption  of  means  for  the  conta- 
gious diseases  of  animals  similar  to  that  in  use  for  the  phyloxera  of  the 
vine;  to  formulate  an  international  agreement  in  which  shall  be  indi- 
cated the  essential  elements  that  ought  to  form  the  basis  of  legislation 
to  be  adopted  by  each  countr^^  which  shall  join  to  carry  it  out. 

Third  question —  Veterinary  education. 

1.  To  be  admitted  to  veterinary  studies  one  must  be  batchelor  es-let- 
tres  or  es-sciences ;  that  is  to  say,  he  must  have  finished  the  studies  of 
the  secondary  education. 

2.  There  is  no  call  to  create  veterinarians  of  different  classes  having 
a  different  amount  of  preparatory  or  veterinary  education. 

3.  Four  years  of  study  at  least  are  requisite  to  make  a  full  study  of 
veterinary  medicine,  if  that  is  made  to  include  physics  and  natural  sci- 
ences. 

{a)  The  instruction  of  the  two  first  years  (four  first  semesters)  should 
embrace  the  following  branches :  physics,  chemistry,  natural  history 
(zoology,  mineralogy,  botany,  and  geology),  anatomy,  histology,  phys- 
iology, and  shoeing.  A  course  of  practice  and  demonstrations  in  mi- 
crography should  always  be  included. 

{b)  Clinical  teaching  should  continue  through  the  whole  of  the  last 
two  years  of  study.  That  the  practical  instruction  of  the  student  may 
be  complete  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have,  beside  a  stationary  and 
consulting  clinic  (hospital  clinic  and  polyclinic),  an  ambulatory  clinic 
(outside  clinic) ;  there  ought  to  be  at  least  two  professors  of  clinics. 

(c)  The  inspection  of  butcher-meat  is  an  absolutely  essential  branch 
of  veterinary  education. 

4.  At  the  end  of  each  year  veterinary  students  should  be  examined 
on  the  studies  which  they  have  been  taught  tliat  year.  Xo  one  should 
be  allowed  to  follow  the  course  of  the  advanced  year  unless  he  has 
passed  this  examination. 

Xo  one  should  be  admitte<l  to  exaniination  I'or  the  degree  of  veter- 
inarian who  has  not  followed  a  course  of  clinical  instruction  for  two 
years  after  having  passed  the  examination  of  the  second  year  of  study. 

The  board  of  examiners  for  granting  degrees  should  always  be  formed 
partly  of  professors  and  partly  of  practitioners. 


180  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

5.  Internal  (board  under  military  rule)  and  external  (residence  out- 
side) are  optional  in  veterinary  schools. 

6.  Veterinary  schools  may  be  independent  establishments,  or  they  may 
be  connected  with  universities  or  institutions  for  the  higher  education, 
but  veterinary  medicine  should  have  its  special  chairs.  One  cannot  but 
disapprove  of  institutions  in  which  all  branches  of  veterinary  education 
are  divided  in  a  very  limited  number  of  veterinary  chairs  ;  such  a  sys- 
tem is  absolutely  insufticient. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  in  every  country  veterinary  schools  should 
be  state  institutions. 

7.  The  professors  of  veterinary  schools  ought  to  possess  diplomas  of 
veterinary  medicine.  It  is  very  desirable  that  veterinarians  before  be- 
ing called  to  the  ])rofessorship  should  have  practiced  veterinary  medi- 
cine for  some  years. 

Fourth  question. 

(See  body  of  report.) 

Fifth  question —  Tuberculosis. 

The  flesh  and  viscera  of  a  tuberculous  animal  can  only  be  utilized 
for  human  food  when  the  disease  is  found  in  the  cadaver  in  the  incipi- 
ent stage,  when  the  lesions  are  confined  to  a  very  small  portion  of  the 
body,  when  the  lymphatic  glands  are  still  free  from  all  morbid  tuber- 
cular lesions,  when  the  tuberculous  formations  have  not  yet  undergone 
softening,  when  the  flesh  presents  the  characters  of  meat  of  the  first 
quality,  and  when  the  animal  is  in  good  state  of  nutrition  at  the  time 
of  slaughter. 

It  should  not  be  permitted  to  remove  the  flesh  of  tuberculous  animals 
admitted  to  consumption  out  of  the  locality  where  they  have  been 
slaughtered,  and  it  should  not  be  offered  for  sale  in  the  butchers'  stall. 

Every  quarter  of  meat  and  all  viscera  showing  lesions  of  tuberculosis, 
as  well  as  the  flesh  of  any  other  animal  in  which  there  is  found  at  the 
necropsy  a  tuberculous  infection  more  jironounced  than  that  referred  to 
above,  should  be  watered  with  petroleum  oil,  and  afterward  buried 
under  police  supervision.  The  extraction  of  fat  by  cooking  and  the 
utilization  of  the  skin  may  be  permitted. 

The  inspection  of  every  animal  attacked  by  tuberculosis  should  be 
made  by  a  veterinarian,  who  alone  should  decide  if  the  flesh  is  fit  for 
human  consumption. 

The  milk  of  animals  afi'ected  with  tuberculusis  or  suspected  of  it  should 
not  be  taken  by  man  nor  by  certain  animals.  The  sale  of  this  milk 
should  be  severely  interdicted. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

JAMES  LAW. 

Hon.  George  B.  Loring, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


HAMBURG  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION. 


REPORT  OF  J.  H.  SANDERS. 


Hon.  Geo.  B.  Loring, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 
Sir:  On  the  19th  day  of  May,  1883,  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  an  ap- 
pointment from  yon  with  the  following  instructions : 

You  are  hereby  appointed  aud  commissioned  au  agent  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
uiont  of  Agriculture  to  attend  the  International  Exhibition  at  Hamburg  in  1883,  aud 
you  are  instructed  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  following  special  points: 

The  character  of  the  Exhibition  in  all  its  departments  of  live  stock  as  compared 
■with  our  own. 

The  general  condition  and  supply  of  live  stock  in  England  and  on  the  Continent. 

The  breeds  most  met  with  aud  that  seem  to  be  most  desirable  and  popular  ;  also, 
their  relative  merits  as  compared  with  our  own. 

The  probability  of  improvement  to  our  own  stock  by  further  importations,  and  the 
breeds  most  desirable  for  this  purpose,  if  any. 

The  dangers  from  contagious  diseases  that  may  be  apprehended  from  continued  im- 
portations, if  any. 

The  methods  of  live  stock  husbandry  practised  compared  with  our  own. 

The  probable  future  demand  from  European  countries  for  American  live  stock  aud 
meats. 

The  present  hindrances  and  restrictions  that  alfect  the  exportation  of  live  stock 
from  the  United  States,  and  how  they  may  be  modified  or  removed,  especially  with 
reference  to  the  exportation  of  our  live  cattle  to  Great  Britain,  and  our  hog  products 
to  Germany. 

In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  instructions,  I  started  upon  my  mission 
May  26,  landing  at  Liverpool.  After  a  brief  sojourn  in  that  city,  de- 
voted mainly  to  an  examination  of  its  cart-horses,  I  proceeded  to  London, 
where  I  spent  several  days  familiarizing  myself  with  tlie  markets,  the 
modes  of  travel,  and  other  matters  of  importance  connected  with  the 
live-stoek  industries  of  that  city.  As  one  of  the  principal  objective 
points  of  my  visit  was  the  International  Live  Stock  Show  at  Hamburg, 
I  determined  to  go  at  once  to  the  continent,  leaving  Enghuul  and  Scot- 
land for  my  return  trip.  Accordingly,  June  19, 1  left  London  purposing 
to  make  my  journey  to  Hamburg  via  Paris,  stopping  en  route  to  make  a 
study  of 

THE  DRAFT  HORSES  OF  FRANCE. 

The  constantly  increasing  popularity  of  the  French  draft  horses  in  this 
country,  as  evinced  by  the  large  numbers  annually  imported,  and   the 

181 


182  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

interest  I  myself  had  taken  in  some  of  the  discussions  growing  out  of 
the  business,  led  me  to  attach  a  good  deal  of  importance  to  what  I  might 
learn  concerning  them  by  a  careful  personal  inv^estigation  of  some  of  the 
controverted  points.  Among  the  most  important  of  these  were  the  fol- 
lowing : 

1st.  Are  there  any  well-established  distinct  breeds  of  draft-horses  in 
France?  2d.  What  guarantees,  if  any,  can  American  importers  ob- 
tain in  France  that  the  horses  purchased  by  them  belong  to  any  par- 
ticular race  or  breed,  and  that  they  are  purely  bred  ?  And  3d.  To  what 
breed  do  the  horses  usually  brought  to  America  from  France  belong, 
and  in  what  part  of  France  are  they  bred  '? 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  for  me  to  remark  here  that  during  the  past 
six  years  I  have,  myself,  been  compelled  to  participate  in  several  con- 
troversies, through  the  agricultural  and  live-stock  papers  of  the  country, 
touching  the  draft  horses  of  France  and  the  name  by  which  they  should 
be  known  in  the  United  States.  Throughout  these  controversies  I  re- 
lied mainly  upon  such  of  the  printed  history  of  these  horses  as  had  been 
translated  into  English,  and  upon  what  I  could  gather  from  intelligent 
gentlemen  who  had  personally  given  more  or  less  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject in  France.  It  was  therefore  with  a  good  deal  of  pleasure  and  in- 
terest that  I  embraced  the  opportunity  afforded  me,  by  my  present  visit, 
to  go  into  this  question  thoroughly  for  myself.  And  first  let  me  sa}^ 
that  many  American  importers,  especially  the  earlier  ones,  and  some 
even  at  the  present  day,  go  to  Paris,  buy  their  horses  of  a  dealer  who 
has  gathered  them  up  from  various  quarters,  and  then  return  without 
the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  breeding  of  .their  horses,  or  of  the  region 
where  they  are  bred.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  such 
men  can  tell  nothing  of  the  breeding  of  these  horses  when  they  get 
home,  because  they  know  nothing,  beyond  the  fact  that  they  had  bought 
them  of  a  French  dealer  at  Paris,  Dieppe,  or  Havre.  If  they  attempted 
to  say  anything  beyond  this,  they  simply  drew  on  their  imagination  for 
their  so-called  facts.  After  awhile,  however,  those  with  some  experi- 
ence in  the  business,  and  with  some  knowledge  of  good  horses,  began 
to  inquire  into  the  subject,  to  try  to  find  out  where  the  good  horses 
came  from,  so  that  they  might  get  them,  if  possible,  from  first  hands. 
I  began  my  investigations  in  the  same  way.  I  went  first  to  the  sales 
stables  of  Paris,  fortified  with  all  the  knowledge  I  had  been  able  pre- 
viously to  obtain  upon  the  subject.  I  went  first  to  M.  Vidal,  who  is  a 
noted  horse  dealer  of  Paris,  and  who  has  undoubtedly  sold  more  stal- 
lions to  American  importers  than  all  the  other  horse  dealers  of  Paris 
combined.  In  reply  to  my  question,  he  said:  "Fully  90  per  cent,  of 
the  horses  that  I  buy  to  sell  to  Americans,  for  stallions,  come  from  be- 
yond Chartres,  in  the  Perche;  the  others  are  picked  up  here  and  there, 
wlierever  we  can  find  one  good  enough  for  the  market;  but  we  sell  them 
all  as  Percherons."  The  other  dealers  all  told  substantially  the  same 
story. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS  183 

After  spending- a  few  days  in  Paris,  talking  with  horsemen  and  gath- 
ering what  information  I  could,  I  determined  to  see  the  Percherou  breed- 
ing district  for  myself.  All  authorities  agreed  in  pointing  out  Xogent 
le  Eotrou,  situated  about  100  miles  southwest  from  Paris,  in  the  ancient 
province  of  La  Perche,  as  the  heart  of  the  Percherou  breeding  country. 
It  is  at  and  near  this  place  that  Mr.  Dunham  has  bought  hundreds  of 
horses  within  the  past  three  years  for  the  American  trade,  and  where 
the  Messrs.  Dillou  and  several  of  the  other  importers  have  made  most 
of  their  purchases  for  some  time  past ;  and  in  this  region  is  the  only 
place  where  any  attempt  is  made  to  maintain  the  Percherou  race  in  its 
purity. 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival  at  Nogent  le  Eotrou,  a  large  number  of 
Percherou  breeders  had  met  to  consult  upon  the  propriety  of  establish- 
ing a  Percheron  stud-book,  in  order  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  race 
and  to  protect  themselves  from  unscrupulons  dealers  in  Paris  and  else- 
where. I  was  much  interested  in  the  discussion  which  took  i)lace.  The 
gentlemen  present  represented  the  principal  breeders  for  some  20  or  30 
miles  around,  and  I  was  told  that  they  owned  at  least  100  stallions  that 
had  been  kept  for  service  this  season.  I  questioned  many  of  them. 
Among  others,  the  statement  of  Mr.  Ernst  Perriot,  one  of  the  most 
noted  of  the  breeders  present,  is  a  fair  sample  of  what  all  had  to  say. 
He  is  a  very  intelligent  gentleman,  and  has  sold  many  horses  to  Ameri- 
can buyers.  I  should  judge  him  to  be  about  fifty  years  of  age.  His 
statement  was  in  substance  as  follows : 

I  have  been  breeding  horses  right  hero  all  my  life,  and  my  father  and  grandfather 
were  in  the  same  business  before  me.  We  never  breed  or  sell  anj^  other  than  pnre 
Pcrcherons.  We  have  usually  kept  6  or  7  stallions  each  year  for  service.  They  travel 
around  the  country,  serviug  mares  owned  by  the  farmers  at  about  25  francs  each. 
We  keep  an  eye  on  these  mares,  know  where  the  best  ones  are,  and  when  the  foals 
are  weaned  we  buy  many  of  the  best  ones  each  year  and  keep  them  until  we  can  sell 
them  at  a  fair  profit.  I  am  sure  there  has  been  nothing  but  recognized  pure  Percheron 
stallions  used  in  our  stud  since  the  time  of  my  grandfather,  aud  nothing  else  has  been 
used  in  this  whole  Percheron  region  within  my  knowledge.  There  is  a  tradition  that 
about  the  time  my  grandfather  engaged  in  the  business  some  Boullouais  blood  was 
introduced  iuto  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  size  of  the  Percherons, 
but  certainly  there  has  been  none  since  about  fifty  years  ago.  The  true  Percherons 
will  now  average  as  largo  or  larger  than  theBouUonais.  Neither  Mr.  Dunham,  Mr.  Dil- 
lon, nor  any  other  American  importer  has  over  bought  any  Norman  horses  here.  We  don't 
have  any  such  horses.  You  can  see  plenty  of  Normans  in  Paris;  they  are  all  suiall  horses, 
mostly  bays,  aud  are  used  in  the  cabs  and  carriages.  They  are  generally  half-bloods 
got  by  English  thoroughbred  sires,  and  some  of  them  are  out  of  Percheron  dams,  and 
are  usually  called  Anglo-Normans. 

The  same  statements,  substantially,  in  regard  to  purity  of  race  and 
the  name,  were  obtained  from  all  the  breeders  interviewed,  notably 
Auguste  Tacheau  (province  of  Sarthe),  Pierre  Sagot  (province  of  Enre- 
et-Loir),  and  Celestin  Caget  (province  of  Orne).  In  fact,  so  far  as  I 
could  learu,  it  was  almost  an  insult  to  ask  one  of  the  breeders  present 
if  they  bred  or  sold  any  other  than  Percherou  horses,  and  they  spurned 
the  term  "  Norman  "  with  contempt. 


184  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

These  are  the  men  of  whom  all  the  leading  American  importers  have  been 
buying  for  several  years  past.  They  buy  these  horses  as  Percherons, 
from  men  who  will  call  them  nothing  else,  and  yet  a  few  of  them  come 
home  and  abuse  everybody  who  refnses  to  call  them  Normans.  There 
is  not  much  in  a  name,  but  sometimes  a  name  contains  a  deal  of  mean- 
ing within  itself. 

It  was  an  agreeable  surprise  to  me  to  learn  that  so  much  pains  had 
been  taken  by  these  Percherons  breeders  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the 
race.  It  had  been  asserted  that  nobody  knew  anything  about  it ;  that 
the  Percherons  were  mongrels,  and  that  no  man  could  give  the  pedigree 
of  his  horse.  I  found,  on  the  contrary,  that,  while  they  have  not  j)aid 
much  attention  to  preserving  the  maternal  genealogy,  many  of  the  sires 
can  easily  be  traced  six  or  eight  generations.  One  young  horse,  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Ernst  Perriot,  is  a  notew^orthy  example.  This  horse  is 
a  three-year  old,  and  is  so  highly  valued  by  his  owner  that  he  has  ab- 
solutely refused  to  name  a  price  on  him.  Fifteen  thousand  francs  were 
offered  for  him  by  an  Americau  buyer  in  my  hearing;  but  the  owner 
shook  his  head  and  said,  "  You  might  safely  double  it."  This  young 
horse  was  got  by  the  black  horse  Brilliant  (No.  1271  of  the  Percheron- 
Norman  Stud  Book),  that  now  stands  at  the  head  of  Mr.  Dunham's 
stud,  at  Wayne,  111.,  and  the  line  of  sires  back  of  him  is  known  for  seven 
generations.  Mr.  Perriot  proposes  to  raise  the  service  fee  of  this  horse 
to  100  francs  next  season,  a  price  that  has  hitherto  been  unheard  of  in 
the  Percheron  breeding  district.  As  another  instance  of  the  care  which 
French  breeders  are  taking  to  secure  good  breeding  stock  for  themselves 
I  may  mention  the  fact  that  Mr.  Auguste  Tacheau  recently  paid  3,000 
francs  for  a  suckling  colt,  which  he  designs  to  use  in  the  stud. 

You  will  doubtless  remember  that  one  of  the  things  discussed  between 
us  at  our  interview  a  few  days  prior  to  my  departure  upon  this  mission 
was  the  desirability  of  a  Percheron  stud-book  in  France  in  order  to  pro- 
tect American  breeders  from  imposition,  and  to  afford  some  guarantee 
of  the  purity  of  the  blood  of  the  horses  brought  to  this  country  from 
France.  And  you  will  also  uo  doubt  remember  that  the  desirability  of 
such  a  publication  was  made  the  subject  of  a  special  communication  from 
3'ou  to  the  French  minister  of  agriculture,  at  that  time.  It  is  therefore 
with  no  small  degree  of  satisfaction  that  I  am  able  to  report  that  the 
Percheron  breeders  of  France  have  fully  resolved  on  a  stud-book.  The 
meeting  to  which  I  have  heretofore  alluded,  as  having  occurred  ou  the 
day  of  my  arrival  at  Nogent  le  Rotrou,  was  simply  informal  and  pre- 
liminary, but  on  Saturday,  June  23,  a  largely  attended  meeting  was 
held  at  the  same  place,  about  one  hundred  breeders,  representing  the 
provinces  of  Eure-et-Loir,  Orne,  Sarthe,  and  the  w^holo  of  the  ancient 
province  of  La  Perche,  being  j)resent.  At  this  meeting  a  permanent 
organization  was  effected  under  the  sanction  of  the  Government,  with 
M.  Fardouet  as  president,  and  Messrs.  Vinault,  Perriot  de  Champeau, 
Sagot  Auatote  Miard,  Poullain,  Lucas,  Launay,  Aveline,  Tacheau,  and 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS,        185' 

Caget  as  vice-presidents ;  M.  Boullay-Cliauinard,  secretary-treasurer. 
These,  with  the  ma^^or  of  the  city  of  Xogeut  le  Eotrou,  the  prefect  of 
the  department  of  Eure-et-Loir,  and  the  prefect  of  Nogent  le  Rotrou, 
constitntethe  "board  of  direction"  of  the  Soci^te  Hippique  Percheronne. 
The  rules  for  registration  are  very  strict,  and  every  ai)plication  must  be 
sworn  to,  giving  the  genealogy  as  far  as  it  can  be  traced,  and  establishing 
beyond  controversj'  that  the  animal  is  "  born  Percheronne."  Penalties 
are  provided  to  prevent  fraudulent  entries  or  disreputable  transactions 
generally.  In  short,  it  looks  like  a  strong,  resolute,  aggressive  organi- 
zation from  the  start,  and  will  mark  an  era  in  the  Percheron  breeding 
business. 

I  conclude,  from  a  considerable  sojourn  in  France,  that  Americans 
who  buy  directly  from  the  breeders  and  "  stallioners  "  (stallion  keepers) 
of  the  Percheron  district  have  heretofore  had  a  reasonably  certain 
guarantee  of  purity  of  blood,  and  henceforth  the  assurance  will  be  as 
complete  as  can  be  obtained  with  any  breed  of  draft  horses  in  the  world. 
Those  who  buy  of  the  dealers  in  Paris  and  in  the  cities  on  the  coast  can 
have  no  such  assurance,  and  their  own  eyes  must  judge  of  tlie  breeding 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  hereafter  no  imported  horses  will  be  admitted  to 
registry  in  the  Percheron-Norman  stud-book  of  America  that  are  not 
previously  registered  in  the  Percheron  Stud-Book  of  France.  It  would 
have  been  infinitely  better  for  the  reputation  of  the  breed,  and  for  our 
own  horse  stock,  if  such  a  regulation  had  been  practicable  and  enforced 
years  ago. 

There  are  many  most  excellent  horses  working  in  the  drays,  trucks. 
and  omnibuses  of  Paris.  The  omnibus  horses  will  average  much  lar- 
ger than  has  been  represented  by  most  writers.  They  are  usually  thin 
in  flesh,  and  the  weights,  when  given  at  all,  have  been  with  reference 
to  that  condition.  I  stood  on  the  street  one  day  for  an  hour  in  company 
with  two  experienced  importers,  watching  these  horses,  especially  with 
a  view  to  estimating  the  average  size.  The  verdict  was  :  average  weight 
in  good  flesh — fat  as  stallions  are  usually  kept  in  America — between 
1,400  and  1,500  pounds.  These  omnibuses  are  enormous,  great  double- 
deckers,  holding  about  sixty-five  persons,  and  are  drawn  by  three  horses 
harnessed  abreast.  Fully  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  these  horses  are 
white,  and  they  nearly  all  have  the  usual  Percheron  characteristics* 
M.  Vidal,  the  Parisian  horse  dealer  previously  alluded  to,  told  me  that 
he  sold  about  1,100  horses  a  year  for  use  in  the  omnibuses;  that  nearly  all 
of  them  came  from  beyond  Chartres  in  the  Perche,  and  that  the  average 
weight  was  about  1,400  pounds.  The  horses  one  sees  in  the  drays  are 
larger;  an  average  lot  of  imported  Percheron  horses  is  but  little  if  any 
better  or  larger  than  the  average  carthorse  as  seen  in  the  streets  of 
Paris.  They  are  massive,  strong,  patient  fellows,  and  are  nearly  all 
Perclierons. 

In  no  city  that  I  have  visited  are  the  horses  driven  so  hard  and  treated 
so  unmercifullv  as  in  Paris.     The  drivers  whip  their  horses  and  rush 


186  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

about  like  mudmen,  and  although  the  streets  are  very  wide  and  rarely 
crowded,  yet  the  pedestrian  who  attempts  to  cross  must  keep  a  sharp 
lookout  or  he  will  be  ruu  over.  The  cab-horses  of  this  city  are  a  sorry, 
rougii  looking  lot,  which  I  attribute  mainly  to  their  bad  usage.  The 
drivers  of  the  cart-horses  do  not  seem  to  be  quite  so  unmerciful,  but 
throughout  all  Paris  the  prevalent  idea  with  a  driver  seems  to  be,  that 
a  horse  was  made  to  use  and  to  abuse.  Even  in  the  Percheron  breeding 
districts  I  noticed  traces  of  this  same  feeling,  and  here  also  I  noticed 
the  most  striking  lack  of  a  knowledge  of  the  value  of  cleanliness  in  the 
management  of  a  horse.  The  French  are  miserable  groomers ;  their 
horses  are  filthy  and  dirty,  and  are  left  mainly  to  take  care  of  themselves, 
so  far  as  cleanliness  is  concerned. 

THE  HAMBURG  INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION. 

From  Paris  I  went  direct  to  Hamburg  to  visit  the  exposition,  or  "In- 
ternational Show,"  as  it  was  called,  which  opened  July  2.  It  was  in 
many  respects  a  disappointment.  In  some  features  it  was  equal  to  an 
ordinary  Ohio,  Illinois,  or  Iowa  State  Fair,  but  in  many  others  it  was 
far  behind  the  usaal  annual  exhibit  in  those  states.  In  the  single  feat- 
ure of  dairy  stock  it  was  great ;  and  I  never  had  so  high  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  quality  of  the  Dutch- Friesian  or  Holstein  cattle  as  since  see- 
ing them  at  this  show.  It  is,  however,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  best 
exhibition  of  the  kind  ever  held  on  the  continent,  the  number  of  entries 
largely  exceeding  those  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1878. 

The  "classes"  were  legion.  There  were  56  classes  for  horses  find 
mules,  with  424  entries ;  141  classes  for  cattle,  with  902  entries ;  88 
classes  for  sheep,  with  728  entries ;  and  50  classes  for  pigs,  with  277 
entries — certainly  classes  enough  and  entries  enough  to  make  a  grand 
show.  But,  unfortunately,  many  of  the  entry  numbers  were  blank,  a 
condition  of  things  which  seems  inseparable  from  the  system  of  num- 
bering and  cataloguing  an  exhibition  of  this  nature  in  advance  of  the 
opening. 

The  various  breeds  of  live  stock  of  Germany  and  of  Northern  Europe 
generally  were  well  represented,  with  the  exception  of  those  of  Russia, 
from  which  country  I  was  not  able  to  find  anything.  In  this  I  was  dis- 
appointed, as  I  had  hoped  to  see  a  good  representation  of  the  famous 
Orloff  trotting  horses.  The  show  of  draft-horses  was  scarcely  worth 
mentioning.  There  were  a  few  creditable  specimens  of  the  English  cart- 
horse, and  some  draft-horses  from  Belgium,  but  none  worthy  of  esjjecial 
notice.  The  government  breeding  studs,  of  Germany,  were  pretty  well 
represented  with  horses  of  the  thoroughbred  type  f  very  fair  specimens, 
but  in  no  wise  remarkable.  In  short,  the  horse-exhibit  generally 
impressed  me  as  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  no  especial  excellence  in  any 
particular.  There  were  some  dun  ponies,  from  Norway,  about  14  1-2 
hands  high,  very  heavily  built,  and  blocky — enormous  draft  horses  in 
miniature,  that  were  much  admired.     There  were  no  French  horses  on 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         187 

exhibition.     la  fact  no  stock  from  France,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  ex- 
cept French  merino  sheep. 

The  feature  of  the  cattle  show  was  the  dairy  stock,  and  in  this  i  never 
saw  anything  that  could  approach  it.  Hundreds  of  the  Friesian  or  Hol- 
stein  cows  were  there,  with  their  grand  udders,  and  every  indication  of 
milk-producting'  capacity  of  the  highest  order.  I  could  not  help  remark- 
ing to  some  American  friends  who  were  with  me  that  I  feared  our  im- 
l)orters  had  not  yet  taken  across  the  waters  any  of  the  best  of  the  race, 
for  I  certaiidy  never  saw  such  dairy  cows  in  any  show-yard  in  America 
as  I  saw  at  Hamburg.  I  am  now  more  than  ever  convinced  that,  all 
things  considered,  the  Dutch  cow  is  the  general  dairy  cow,  par  excellence, 
of  the  world. 

I  was  also  very  much  interested  in  the  Oldenburg  cattle,  a  race  that 
in  color  closely  resembles  the  Holstein  or  Friesian  breed;  rather  darker 
in  color,  not  quite  so  good,  I  should  say,  for  the  dairy,  but  very  much 
better  for  beef.  In  fact,  the  very  best  beef  cattle  on  exhibition,  in  ray 
opinion,  were  these  same  Oldenburgers.  They  are  smooth,  rather  fine 
in  bone,  handle  fairly  well,  and  bear  every  indication  of  good  feeding- 
quality.  If  it  were  possible  to  combine  the  beef-making  quality  of  the 
Oldenburg  cattle  with  the  great  milking  capacity  of  the  Dutch  cows 
it  would  come  very  near  making  the  model  cow  for  the  average  farmer. 

xVnother  class  of  cattle  that  interested  me  much  was  the  Augeler,  a 
race  that  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  Schleswig-Holstein ;  little  fellows 
rather  smaller  than  the  average  Jersey;  very  dark  red,  bordering  on 
brown  in  color,  very  fine  in  the  bone,  and  evidently  deep  and  very  rich 
milkers.  Mr.  H.  Chandos-Pole-Gell,  one  of  the  delegates  from  the 
Koyal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  remarked  to  me  that  to  him  this 
class  was  the  most  interesting  one  in  the  show;  but  while  I  freely  con- 
cede to  them  great  milking  and  butter  caijacity  in  proportion  to  size,  I 
could  not  help  thinking  of  "Uncle  Billy  Smith's"  6o?i  mo*,  anent  the 
Jerseys,  at  the  Illinois  State  Fair  two  years  ago:  "They  will  do  for  a 
man  who  is  too  poor  to  keep  a  cow  and  who  is  ashamed  to  keep  a  goat." 
They  are  too  little  to  be  of  much  practical  use,  but  they  are  evidently  a 
very  pure  race,  pnd  good  machines  for  making  milk  and  cream,  in  pro- 
portion to  their  size. 

There  were  some  short-horns  on  exhibition,  but  they  were,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  one  or  two  cows,  miserable  specimens  of  the  breed. 
There  were  also  a  few  Ayrshires,  and  one  or  two  Polled-Angus,  of  very 
ordinary  merit.  The  Swiss  cattle  were  out  inconsiderable  force,  and, 
from  their  uniform  gray  color  and  the  immense  bells  that  accompanied 
them,  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention.  They  were  of  fair  size,  pretty 
good  on  the  back,  man^'  of  them,  but  coarse  and  bad  handlers,  evi- 
dently lacking  in  what  cattle  breeders  usually  denominate  "quality." 

As  a  matter  of  curiosity  I  was  interested  in  the  little  cows  from 
Norway.  They  are  little  things,  much  smaller  than  the  Augeler  cows 
above  alluded  to,  with  remarkably  tliin,  flat  bodies,  on  very  short  legs, 


188  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMSSTICATED    ANIMALS. 

white  Oil  back  and  belly,  the  sides  a  light  yellow,  streaked  with  black, 
marking  them  mnch  like  a  tiger.  About  a  dozen  of  them  were  in  the 
show. 

The  show  of  sheep  was  not  remarkable  in  any  feature.  The  French 
merinos  rather  took  the  lead  in  numbers,  closel;y  followed  by  the  Eng- 
lish mutton  breeds,  the  various  classes  of  Downs,  with  a  fewCotswolds 
and  Lincolns.  Of  the  French  merinos,  there  were  many  most  excellent 
specimens,  better  and  larger  than  any  I  had  heretofore  seen.  The  peo- 
ple of  Germany  appear  to  be  "  taking  to"  the  Southdowus,  Shropshires, 
Hampshires,  and  Oxfords  largely. 

In  the  swine  department  of  the  show  I  was  pleased  to  see  our 
American-Poland  Chinas  holding  a  promiuent  place,  and,  in  my  judg- 
ment, the  very  best  specimens  of  swine  on  exhibition  were  of  this  breed 
and  imported  from  America.  Mr.  John  C.  Funch,  of  Oldenburg,  was 
the  enterprising  gentleman  who  made  this  exhibit,  and  his  swine  are 
certainly  most  creditable  representatives  of  the  breed.  In  point  of 
numbers,  the  white  breeds,  mostly  of  the  various  Yorkshire  families, 
made  up  about  GO  percent,  of  the  show,  while  the  remainder  were  about 
equally  divided  between  the  Berkshires  and  Poland -Chinas,  with  a  few 
Essex. 

I  may  sum  up  my  impressions  of  this  show  by  saying  that,  while  it 
was  very  creditable  in  most  departments  and  great  in  disi)lay  of  dairy 
stock,  I  saw  nothiug  worthy  of  especial  remark  in  the  management. 
The  system  of  classification  was  very  complete,  and  the  several  breeds 
were  usually  grouped  together  in  their  stalls  or  pens  so  that  one  desir- 
ing to  examine  any  class  of  stock  found  but  little  difficulty  in  doing  so. 
The  published  catalogue  of  the  exhibits  was  also  a  great  convenience 
to  visitors,  as  in  it  full  particulars  as  to  name,  age,  pedigree,  owner- 
ship, etc.,  were  given.  The  custom  of  issuing  a  catalogue  of  this  sort 
is  general  with  European  agricultural  shows,  and  might  be  followed  in 
our  own  country  with  iirofit. 

I  saw  no  breeds  of  live  stock  at  this  show  the  importation  of  which 
to  the  United  States,  in  my  judgment,  should  be  encouraged  or  recom- 
mended other  than  the  Holstein  or  Friesian-Dutch  dairy  cattle  and  the 
Oldenburgs,  to  which  I  have  alluded  in  the  foregoing.  They  are  cer- 
tainly most  excellent  breeds  of  cattle  for  the  purposes  indicated.  The 
former  have  already  been  extensively  introduced  in  our  country,  and 
are  certainly  rapidly  growing  in  public  favor.  To  what  extent  the 
Oldenburgs  might  be  profitably  imported,  if  at  all,  I  am  not  prepared 
to  say.  I  can  only  reiterate  my  former  statement,  that  they  were  cer- 
tainly the  best  beef  animals  on  exhibition,  and  that  they  also  seem  to 
possess  an  adaptation  to  the  uses  of  the  general  dairy  farmer,  but  little 
inferior  to  the  Holsteins  or  Friesians,  which  they  closely  resemble. 

OUR    PORK   IN   GERMANY. 

While  in  Germany  I  made  diligent  inquiry  in  order  to  ascertain  so  far 
as  possible  the  feeling  of  the  Government  and  i)eople  concerning  the 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        189 

admission  of  American  pork  to  that  country.  Among  tlie  trades  people 
in  the  cities,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  tbe  feeling  is  very  strong  against 
the  prohibitory  policj'  of  the  Government,  but  among  the  best  informed 
people,  and  those  connected  with  the  Government,  the  case  is  just  about 
as  follows: 

The  swine  of  both  Germany  and  the  United  States  are  confessedly, 
to  some  extent,  infected  with  trichina.  The  German  authorities  refpiire 
that  the  flesh  of  all  swine  slaughtered  in  that  country  shall  be  subjected 
to  a  microscopic  examination  by  a  Government  inspector,  and  pronounced 
free  from  trichina,  before  it  can  be  offered  for  sale.  No  such  examina- 
tion is  practicable  with  salted  and  packed  meats  from  America,  and  as 
no  pretense  of  an  inspection  of  our  meats  is  made  by  us  under  Govern- 
ment authority,  or  even  under  the  supervision  of  the  packing  firms,  the 
German  Government  says,  "We  cannot  accord  to  American  packers 
and  butchers  a  privilege  which  we  refuse  to  accord  to  our  own."  So 
far  as  I  could  gather,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  whenever  an  inspec- 
tion of  our  pork  is  made,  under  careful  governmental  supervision,  similar 
to  that  now  made  by  the  German  authorities,  there  will  be  no  objection 
to  its  sale  in  that  countr3\  Indeed  it  strikes  me  that  were  such  an  in- 
si)ection  made  there  would  be  such  a  strong  pressure  brought  to  bear 
ui)on  the  German  Government  by  their  own  people  that  the  embargo 
would  be  speedily  removed.  The  presence  or  absence  of  this  microscopic 
parasite  in  the  pork  of  this  country  is  a  matter  of  but  little  interest  to 
us,  as  Americans  cooJc  their  pork  before  eating  it,  and  thorough  cooking 
obviates  all  danger,  but  in  Germany,  where  much  of  it  is  eaten  raw,  it 
becomes  a  serious  matter.  Should  further  experiments  confirm  what 
has  been  already  partially  shown,  that  thorough  curing  in  salt  destroys 
the  vitality  of  the  trichina,  if  not  entirely,  at  least,  to  so  great  a  degree 
as  to  reduce  the  danger  from  meats  that  have  been  thoroughly  cured  by 
this  process  to  almost  nothing,  it  will  doubtless  be  a  strong  point  in  our 
favor,  and  a  proper  presentation  of  the  facts  to  the  German  Government, 
should  this  be  clearly  prov^en,  ought  at  once  to  be  made.  Until  this  fact 
is  clearly  established,  however,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  pretence  of 
inspection  of  American  meats,  either  under  governmental  or  individual 
supervision,  the  position  of  the  German  Government  is  obviously  souiul 
upon  this  question,  and  cannot  be  assailed  without  first  demonstrating 
that  their  own  inspection  is  useless. 

OUR  EXPORT  CATTLE  TRADE  WITH  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

From  all  that  I  could  learn  while  in  pjugland,  the  trade  in  dead  meat 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  is  not  at  all  satisfactory 
either  to  those  engaged  in  the  trade  or  to  the  consumer.  The  facilities 
for  securing  the  exact  temperature  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  the 
proper  condition  of  the  meat  during  the  ocean  voyage  are  so  imperfect 
that  the  meat  not  unfreipiently  reaches  the  consumer  in  a  more  or  less 
damaged  condition,  and  large  losses  have  resulted.     All  well-informed 


190  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

persons  agree  tliat  the  most  satisfactory  results  will  be  attaiued  wlieu 
"we  shall  once  more  be  able  to  show  a  clean  bill  of  health,  and  send  our 
live  cattle,  under  such  regulations  as  will  insure  their  health  and  com- 
fort, to  the  farms  and  pastures  of  England  and  Scotland,  there  to  be 
slaughtered  when  their  condition  and  the  state  of  the  market  requires  it. 

It  ought  not  to  be  considered  strange  that  British  farmers  should 
make  strenuous  efforts  to  still  further  restrict  or  totally  suppress  the 
importation  of  live  stock  for  slaughter  in  their  couutry.  They  have 
suffered  enormous  losses  in  times  past  from  imported  disease,  and  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  they  have  been  contending  with  great  obstacles, 
not  the  least  of  which  has  been  the  great  supply  of  agricultural  prod- 
ucts that  America  has  sent  to  that  country.  Under  these  circumstances 
it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  British  farmers  will  be  inclined  to  take  a 
strictly  judicial  view  of  the  case.  Ilfaturally  they  would  like  to  secure 
a  better  market  for  their  own  stock,  and  equally  naturally  they  magnify 
possible  danger  of  importing  disease  from  this  country.  On  the  Other 
hand,  it  should  be  borne  in  miud  that  the  Euglish  Government  has 
steadily  refused  to  yield  to  the  demands  for  further  restrictions,  and  has 
In  the  main  done  full  justice  to  American  interests,  especially  in  the 
recent  alarm  over  the  reported  existence  of  foot-and-mouth  disease  in 
this  country. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  British  farmers  do  not  regard  the  existing 
condition  of  the  meat  trade  with  this  country  favorably,  and  that  when- 
ever they  are  satisfied  that  it  may  be  done  with  safety  they  would 
much  prefer  that  the  restriction  should  be  removed  altogether,  rather 
than  that  the  iH-esent  arrangement  of  compulsory  slaughter  be  con- 
tinued. As  the  trade  is  now  conducted  the  su^iply  received  from  the 
United  States  detracts  just  so  much  from  the  demand  for  home  prod- 
ucts, and  the  British  farmer  has  no  opportunity  for  even  an  incidental 
share  iu  the  i)rofits  of  the  business.  On  the  other  hand,  could  our  cat- 
tle be  safely  admitted  without  restrictions,  immense  numbers  of  store 
or  partially  fatted  cattle  would  be  shipped  to  that  couutry,  and  would 
be  taken  inland  to  British  pastures  and  finished  up  on  British  food, 
thus  enabling  British  farmers  to  reap  profits  out  of  the  better  fitting  of 
these  cattle  for  the  market,  and  also  to  utilize  them  in  the  converting 
of  the  provender  of  the  farm  into  manure,  a  very  important  considera- 
tion with  the  farmers  of  that  country.  During  my  visit  to  that  couu- 
try I  conversed  with  many  farmers  upon  this  subject,  and  I  never  met 
with  a  single  man  who  expressed  himself  as  otherwise  than  favorably 
disposed  towards  the  free  admission  of  American  cattle  whenever  it 
could  be  done  with  a  reasonable  guarantee  of  safety  from  contagious 
diseases ;  and  in  nearly  every  case  the  hope  was  expressed  that  the 
time  would  soon  come  when  the  present  restrictions  jnight  safely  be  re- 
moved. Instead  of  being  opposed  from  motives  of  self-interest  to  the 
free  introduction  of  our  cattle  to  that  country,  the  feeling  seems  to  be 
general  among  English  farmers,  so  far  as  I  heard  any  expression  of 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        191 

Opinion,  that  the  profit  derived  from  tlie  "  fiuishing  up"  process  would 
more  than  comj)ensate  for  the  resulting  competition. 

Feeling  certain  that  this  is  the  view  generally  held  by  intelligent  and 
progressive  British  farmers,  and  also  strong  in  the  belief  that  we  shall 
at  no  very  distant  day  be  in  such  a  condition  as  to  enable  us  to  give  our 
British  cousins  assurances  concerning  the  sanitary  condition  of  our 
cattle  that  will  be  satisfactory,  I  conlideutly  look  to  the  entire  removal 
of  the  present  restrictions  as  a  thing  reasonably  certain  to  occur  in  the 
near  future.  Of  course  this  belief  and  hope  is  based  upon  the  confi- 
dence I  feel  in  the  course  which  our  General  Government,  aided  by  that 
of  the  infected  States,  will  take  in  respect  to  the  stamping  out  of  con- 
tagious diseases  and  in  otherwise  improving  the  sanitary-  condition  of 
our  cattle,  and  also  in  the  surveillance  which,  in  my  opinion,  will  at  no 
distant  day  be  exercised  over  our  exports. 

The  importation  of  cattle  from  foreign  countries  was  a  fruitful  theme 
for  discussion  in  Great  Britain  during  the  time  I  was  in  that  country. 
The  unusual  extent  to  which  foot-and-mouth  disease  has  prevailed 
there  during  the  past  year  and  the  losses  resulting  therefrom  to  British 
farmers  have  made  them  extremely  restive,  and  while  the  Government 
has  been  active  in  its  efforts  to  stamp  out  the  disease,  it  has  been  con- 
stantly imi^ortuned  to  adopt  still  more  stringent  regulations  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  contagious  diseases  from  abroad.  All  Americans 
interested  in  the  subject  are  aware  that  for  several  years  past  a  regula- 
tion has  been  enforced  which  requires  that  all  cattle  brought  to  Great 
Britain  from  the  Cnited  States  must  be  slaughtered  at  the  docks  where 
landed  within  ten  days  after  their  arrival,  no  matter  what  may  be  their 
condition  or  the  state  of  the  market.  This  edict  of  compulsory  slaughter 
is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  to  admit  the  free  transit  of  cattle 
from  the  United  States  to  the  farms  and  pastiTres  of  Great  Britain 
w^ould  exjiose  the  cattle  of  British  farmers  to  increased  dangers  of 
infection  from  pleuropneumonia  or  lung  plague,  the  presence  of  which 
disease  along  a  jiortion  of  our  Atlantic  seaboard  is  admitted. 

In  the  mean  time  Canadian  cattle  have  been  freely  admitted  without 
compulsory  slaughter  or  detention,  no  contagious  diseases  having  been 
found  among  the  cattle  of  that  country,  and  the  Canadian  Government 
maintaining  a  rigid  quarantine  against  the  cattle  of  all  foreign  coun- 
tries, the  United  States  included,  and  also  making  a  caieful  inspection 
of  all  exported  cattle  and  exercising  a  rigid  supervision  over  the  ships 
in  wliicli  they  are  carried.  In  consequence  of  these  regulations  a  Ca- 
nadian bullock  will  bring  .$  15  to  $25  more  at  the  Liverpool  or  London  land- 
ings than  could  be  obtained  for  the  same  bullock  if  exported  from  the 
United  States.  To  some  European  countries  where  the  sanitary  condi- 
tion of  the  cattle  is  not  so  satisfactory  as  in  the  United  States  even  the 
grace  of  compulsory  slaughter  is  not  accorded,  but  the  landing  of  live 
cattle  therefrom  is  absolutely  prohibited. 

In  January  last  a  shipment  of  cattle  was  received  at  Liverpool  from 


192  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Boston,  which,  upon  mspection,  was  fouud  to  be  suffering  from  foot- 
aud-niouth  disease.  In  Marcli  a  shipment  was  received  from  Baltimore 
in  tlie  same  conditi(m.  The  publication  of  these  facts  led  to  a  strong 
popular  demand  upon  the  Government  that  absolute  prohibition  should 
be  applied  to  all  cattle  from  the  United  States ;  and  in  July,  while  I 
was  in  London,  Mr.  Chaplin  introduced  a  motion  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons which  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  demand  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment that  such  action  should  be  immediately  taken.  In  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  the  Government  party,  Mr.  Chaplin's  motion  prevailed 
by  a  majority  of  eight. 

I  listened  with  a  good  deal  of  interest  to  the  discussion  which  this 
motion  elicited,  and,  in  common  with  all  other  Americans  who  took  any 
interest  whatever  in  the  subject,  I  regarded  the  vote  by  which  it  was 
carried  as  a  very  threatening  omen.  Indeed,  the  agent  of  the  Domin- 
ion Government  of  Canada  said  to  me  the  day  after  this  vote  was  taken 
that  he  was  certain  that  within  a  week  an  order  would  be  issued  abso- 
lutely prohibiting  the  landing  of  American  cattle  at  British  ports.  I 
set  at  once  actively  to  do  what  I  could  to  counteract  this.  The  pretext 
set  up  for  this  action  was  the  presence  of  foot-and-mouth  disease  in  the 
United  States.  My  position  as  an  accredited  representative  of  our  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  and  my  opportunities  for  ascertaining  the 
facts  as  a  member  of  the  Treasury  Cattle  Commission,  enabled  me  to 
make  representations  touching  the  actual  condition  of  our  cattle  that 
attracted  attention,  and  which  I  believe  were  quite  generally  accepted 
as  true.  Through  the  London  Times  and  by  personal  interviews  with 
members  of  Parliament  and  with  the  chief  veterinary  adviser  of  the 
privy  council,  aided,  I  may  say,  by  the  efforts  of  others,  I  was  able  not 
only  to  counteract  the  effect  of  the  vote  on  Mr,  Chaplin's  motion,  but 
to  bring  about  a  much  more  satisfactory  state  of  feeling,  so  far  as  the 
security  of  the  present  condition  of  the  trade  is  concerned,  than  had 
I)reviously  existed. 

1  was  able  to  explicitly  deny  the  existence  of  foot-and-mouth  disease 
in  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  direct  importations  from  Great 
Britain,  which  cases  had  been  promptl}^  detected  and  closel}'  quaran- 
tined, and  to  state  positively  that  the  cases  of  foot-and-mouth  disease 
alleged  to  have  been  brought  from  the  United  States  were  due  solely 
to  the  infected  ships  which  had  brought  diseased  cattle  to  our  own  ports, 
and  without  proper  disinfection  had  been  loaded  with  fat  cattle  for 
Liverpool. 

The  effect  produced  by  this  plain  statement  of  facts  was  so  consider- 
able that  Mr.  Arnold  called  attention  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  the 
assurances  contained  in  my  letter  in  the  Times  of  July  18th,  and  also 
to  one  of  a  subseciuent  date  from  General  Carman,  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  and  asked  the  Government:  "  Whether, 
in  view  of  these  facts,  the  present  restrictions  might  not  safely  be  re- 
moved so  far  as  cattle  from  the  Western  States  were  concerned." 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    D0ME>>5TICATED    ANIMALS.  \9'S 

The  answer  from  the  Grovernmeiit  was,  as  [  supposed  it  would  be,  to 
tlie  etiect  that,  uuder  the  existing  act  of  Parliament,  no  concession  conld 
be  made  iu  favor  of  a  portion  of  anj'  coiintr}'  that  couhl  not  be  accorded 
to  it  as  a  whole,  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  Professor  Brown, 
the  chief  veterinary  adviser  of  the  privy  council,  an  admission  that 
in  his  opinion  a  plan  might  be  devised  by  which  cattle  from  onr  Western 
States  might  now  be  admitted  with  reasonable  safety.  This  I  regarded 
as  a  very  important  admission  ;  but  the  nearness  of  the  end  of  the  ses- 
sion of  Parliament  made  it  useless  then  to  ask  for  such  additional  legis- 
lation as  would  be  necessary  in  order  to  enable  the  privy  council  to 
carry  out  this  idea.  I  may  add,  in  this  connection,  that  Professor 
Brown,  speaking  for  the  privy  council,  expressed  himself  as  greatly 
pleased  with  the  steps  which  the  Agricultural  and  the  Treasury  De- 
partments of  the  United  States  had  taken  within  the  past  year  or  two 
to  improve  the  sanitary  condition  of  our  live  stock  and  to  pi-event  the  im- 
portation and  spread  of  contagious  diseases;  and  that  the  impression 
is  rapidly  gaining  ground  that  we  shall  soon  be  in  sucii  a  condition  that 
cattle  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  may  be  admitted  and  taken 
inland  without  any  danger  from  disease.     This  feeling  is  based  mainly 

il)on  the  steps  which  our  Government  has  already  taken,  and  a  faith 
riiat  we  shall  continue  to  go  forward  in  the  same  direction. 

I  cannot  but  regard  it  as  extremely  fortunate  that  some  one  who  could 
speak  with  some  degree  of  assurance,  and  whose  opportunities,  from 
knowing  the  facts,  were  acknowledged,  should  have  been  on  the  spot 
n  London  in  Jul^^  last  to  correct  the  misapprehensions  that  existed 
touching  the  prevalence  of  foot-and-mouth  disease  in  this  country;  and 
I  think  it  reasonably  safe  to  predict  that,  with  the  enforcement  of  such 
regulations  as  are  now  contemplated  by  our  Treasury  Department,  and 
with  such  additional  legislation  as  may  be  reasonably  expected  from  our 
Congress  at  its  next  session,  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  American 
cattle  will  be  placed  upon  an  equal  footing  with  those  from  Canada  so 
far  as  admission  to  British  ports  is  concerned. 

IMPRESSIONS   OF  BRITISH   BREEDS    OF    CATTLE. 

However  much  the  substantial  merits  o-f  short-horns  in  Great  Britain, 

.  as  well  as  in  America,  may  have  been  damaged  within  the  past  twenty 

years  by  blind  allegiance  to  what  has  been  called  "  fashionable  breeding," 

!  it  is  evident  that  the  "color  craze,"  which  prevails  to  so  great  an  extent 

i  in  the  United  States,  has  not  yet  had  any  serious  etiect  on  the  other  side  of 

the  ocean.    In  the  stables,  the  pastures,  and  the  show-yards  of  England 

and  Scotland  I  saw  com)).! rati vely  few  red  short-horns.    Roan  appears  to 

be  the  favorite  color  there ;  the  all  white  being  (piite  as  frecpiently  met 

with  as  the  all-red.     In  the  show-yards  the  rich  red-roan — a  color  that 

is  peculiarly  characteristic  of  the  short-horn  breed — appears  to  be  in 

a  decided  majority  over  all  others. 

In  point  of  real  merit,  howevei',  I  think  no  candid  man  who  has  seen 
5751  1)  A 13 


I 


194  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DQMESTIOATED    ANIMALS 

the  cattle  of  both  countries  will  (li8i)iite  my  assertion  when  I  say  that, 
judged  by  the^cattle  shown  at  the  Royal  this  year,  English  short-horDS 
are  not  equal  to  those  shown  at  our  leading  fairs  in  America.  There 
were  no  representatives  of  the  breed  at  the  show  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society,  at  York,  this  year,  worthy  of  being  compared  with  the 
show  herds  that  Potts,  Pickrell,  Sodowsky,  Croft,  and  Palmer  exhibited 
throughout  the  Western  States  at  our  principal  fairs  last  year.  In  this 
opinion  1  am  sustained  by  every  American  "cattle-man"  that  I  met  at 
York  duiing  the  Royal  show,  and  there  were  several  of  them — Hereford, 
Angus,  and  Devon,  as  well  as  shorthorn  breeders.  With  the  exception 
of  the  yearling  and  the  two-yearold  heifer  classes,  I  thought  the  show 
weak  throughout,  so  far  as  quality  is  concerned,  although  it  was  quite 
strong  in  numbers.  At  this  writing  I  have  not  read  any  of  the  com- 
ments upon  this  show  by  the  English  press,  so  I  am  not  prepared  to 
say  whether  it  compares  favorably  with  its  predecessors  or  otherwise; 
but,  judging  by  what  1  heard  among  the  breeders,  it  was  certainly  u\) 
to,  if  not  superior,  to  the  average  of  the  past  six  years. 

The  show  of  breeds,  other  than  short-horns,  at  the  Royal  was  not 
large.  The  Hereford s  were  reasonably  good,  the  cows  very  fat  and 
very  "  patchy,"  as  a  rule.  There  was  a  fair  show  of  Welsh  cattle — 
vigorous  looking  animals — uniformly  black  and  possessing  a  good  deal 
of  "style";  they  impressed  me  as  being  really  much  better  beef  cattle 
than  I  had  been  led  to  believe  from  what  I  had  previously  heard  of 
them.  There  were  a  few  very  good  Aberdeen-Angus  and  Galloways, 
but  these  breeds  were  not  largly  represented. 

From  my  stand-point  the  very  best  beef  animals  1  saw  at  York  were 
of  the  Devon  breed.  Of  course  they  were  not  so  large  as  some  of  the 
other  breeds,  but  they  were  as  square  and  blocky  almost  as  model  Berk- 
sTnre  pigs,  on  very  short  legs,  with  fine  bone,  neat  heads,  and  such 
handlers!  As  an  old  butcher  remarked  in  my  hearing,  they  were  "all 
good  beef  from  'orns  to  'ocks." 

p'  I  also  liked  the  red  polled  cattle  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  quite  well. 
They  are  much  like  the  Devous  in  shape  and  color,  but  are  hornless. 
While  they  possess  all  the  characteristics  necessary  to  entitle  them  to 
rank  as  a  distinct  breed,  yet  it  is  conceded  that  the  cattle  of  Suffolk 
have  been  a  trifle  coarser  than  those  of  Norfolk — a  difference,  however, 
that  is  fast  disappearing  under  the  system  of  blood-mingling  that  is  now 
practiced  between  the  two  counties.  In  addition  to  a  high  order  of 
merit  as  beef  producers,  the  Norfolk  and  Sutfblk  breeders  claim  great 
superiority  for  the  cows  of  the  breed  as  milkers,  and  certainly  their 
published  records  go  far  toward  sustaining  the  claim.  To  those  who 
have  a  decided  preference  for  hornless  cattle,  yet  with  a  dislike  for  the 
black  color,  I  can  heartily  recommend  these  beautiful  red  cattle  of  Nor- 
folk and  Sulfolk. 

The  show  of  Jerseys  at  the  "Royal"  was  much  larger  than  that  of 
any  other  breed,  except  the  shorthorns,  and  many  of  the  cows  carried 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         195 

with  tliein  evidences  of  large  milking-  capacity.  The  Ayrsliires  were  not 
conspicuous,  either  in  numbers  or  in  quality,  and  the  honors  in  the  dairy 
classes  were  carried  off  by  the  short-horn  cows.  I  may  remark  here  that 
the  prevailing  type  of  short-horn  cow,  as  exhibited  at  the  "Koyal,"  ap- 
proaches much  more  nearly  to  that  of  the  model  dairy  cow  than  does 
the  type  usually'  met  with  in  our  Anibrican  show-yards.  They  are  more 
after  the  "  wedge-shape"  pattern— heavy  in  the  hind  quarters  and  ta- 
pering toward  the  head — than  is  considered  the  highest  model  of  form  in 
a  beef-producing  animal. 

Next  to  the  '■'■  Royal,"  the  most  important  agricultural  show  of  Great 
Britain  is  that  of  the  Highland  Society,  held  this  year  at  Inverness. 
The  leading  feature  was,  of  course,  cattle,  and  of  these  the  (xalloways, 
Highlanders,  and  Aberdeen-Angus  took  the  lead.  Many  who  had  made 
entries  here,  however,  as  at  York,  were  deterred  from  bringing  their 
cattle  on  account  of  danger  from  the  wide-spread  infection  of  foot-and- 
mouth  disease.  Among  others  there  were  many  entries  from  Sir  George 
McPherson  Grant's  famous  Ballindallocli  herd  of  Aberdeen-Angus  cat- 
tle, but  fear  lest  they  might  incur  the  dreaded  infection  finally  led  Sir 
George  to  keep  his  favoiites  at  home,  although  several  of  his  choicest 
animals  had  been  especially  fitted  for  this  show,  and  with  every  prospect 
of  carrying  a  large  share  of  the  honors  l)ack  with  them  to  Castle  Bal- 
lindallocli. 

The  short-horns  were  not  numerous,  but  there  were  a  few  good  ones ; 
notably  Goldfinder,  a  yearling  bull  bred  by  William  Hand  ley.  Green- 
head  Milnthorpe,  got  by  Sir  Arthur  Ingram  (32400)  out  of  Princess 
Flora,  by  Alfred  the  Great  (36121).  This  young  fellow,  a  beautiful  red 
roan,  exhibited  by  James  Bruce,  who  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  best 
feeders  in  all  Scotland,  was  shown  in  the  very  pink  of  condition,  and 
is  certainly  the  best  young  bull  I  have  seen  this  year.  He  deservedly 
won  the  highest  honors  in  his  class  and  also  the  gold  medal  as  tlie  best 
shorthorn  bull  of  any  age  in  the  show.  Among  the  other  short  horns 
there  was  nothing  particularly  noticeable  ;  and  certainly  any  of  the 
American  herds  mentioned  above  would  have  had  an  easy  victory  over 
the  best  of  them  in  the  show  ring.  I  cannot  help  repeating  here  my 
strong  conviction  that  our  best  American  short-horns  are  superior,  as 
a  general  thing,  to  the  best  I  have  seen  here,  either  in  the  shows  or  at 
home  on  the  farms  of  the  breeders.  The  best  specimens  of  the  breed  I 
have  seen  (witli  the  exception  of  the  young  bull  above  mentioned)  were 
on  the  i)astures  of  the  farmers  of  Aberdeenshire — beautiful,  smooth, 
fine  boned  cattle — such  as  would  delight  the  heart  of  a  Smithfield 
butcher. 

The  West  Highlanders  were  numerically  stronger  than  any  other  breed 
at  Inverness,  ami  with  the  Scotch  people  they  ap[)ear  to  be  i)rime  fa- 
vorites. I  fear,  however,  they  are  too  slow  in  maturing,  and  too  small 
to  be  of  value  to  American  breeders.  Hardiness  they  undoubtedly  pos- 
sess to  an  unusual  degree,  but  if  hardiness  alone  is  what  our  Western 


196  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

raiiclnuL'ii  want  they  can  j^et  plenty  of  th  it  characteristic  by  taking  a 
cross  back  to  the  Texan  or  to  that  still  more  hardy  and  better  "  wrest- 
ler," the  American  buffalo.  I  take  it  that  what  is  wanted  by  our  West- 
ern ranchmen  is  a  cross  that  will  give  earlier  maturity,  fineness  of  bone, 
lightness  of  offal,  and  a  greater  tendency  to  take  on  flesh.  The  quality 
of  hardiness  is  already  attained  in  the  foundation  stock. 

For  the  same  reason  I  am  rather  disposed  to  question  the  desirability 
of  the  Galloway  as  a  cross  for  our  Western  ranchmen.  Hardy  they  un- 
doubtedly are,  and  of  nu^st  admirable  form  in  carcass,  but  I  have  a  fear 
that  this  cross  upon  the  foundation  stock  in  use  on  our  Western  plains 
will  be  found  coarse-boned  and  slow  in  reaching  maturity.  I  venture 
this  as  an  opinion,  based  entirely  upon  the  i)revailing  type  of  these  cat- 
tle as  I  have  seen  them  in  their  native  country.  When  mature  I  am 
inclined  to  think  they  are  superior  in  shape  of  carcass,  judged  from  a 
beef-producing  standpoint,  to  their  rivals,  the  finer-boned,  finer  haired, 
and  earlier  maturing  Aberdeen-Angus,  but  as  a  cross  for  the  purposes 
above  indicated  I  certainly  look  for  much  more  satisfactory  results  from 
the  latter  breed,  unless  it  be  upon  herds  that  have  already  been  im- 
proved by  several  crosses  with  the  earlier  maturing  breeds. 

Among  the  herds  visited  by  me  in  this  country  I  have  been  especially 
pleased  with  the  short-horns  of  Hugh  Aylmer  and  Amos  Cruickshank, 
and  the  polled  herds  of  Sir  George  McPherson  Grant  and  Mr.  George 
AVilken.  Mr.  Aylmer  is  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  Booth  sort,  and  as 
his  breeding  is  confined  to  that  line  his  herd  may  be  fairly  taken  as  a 
representative  one  of  that  family.  His  cattle  are  distinguished  for 
blocky,  beefy  form,  on  short  legs,  with  well-sprung  ribs,  and  straight 
top  and  bottom  lines.  Not  remarkable  for  fineness  or  smoothness,  or 
style,  or  finish,  but  certainly  most  excellent  beef-producing  cattle. 

Mr.  Cruickshank  is  not  a  follower  of  either  Booth  or  Bates.  He  has 
been  breeding  short-horns  at  Sittyton  for  about  fifty  years;  says  it  has 
always  been  his  aim  to  breed  good  short-horns,  regardless  of  the  ca- 
prices of  fashion  ;  has  tried  bulls  of  both  Bates  and  Booth  sorts,  but 
thought  they  did  his  herd  harm  rather  than  good,  and  so  discarded 
first  one  and  then  the  other.  The  bull  that,  in  his  opinion,  has  been 
most  productive  of  good  results  in  his  herd — the  greatest  short-horn 
bull,  in  his  judgment,  that  has  existed  within  the  past  fifty  years — was 
Champion  of  England,  a  bull  bred  by  himself.  He  used  this  bull  on 
his  herd  about  ten  years.  Among  the  sons  of  the  old  bull  he  regards 
Roan  Gauntlet  as  the  best — but  little,  if  any,  inferior  as  a  getter  to  his 
illustrious  sire.  He  has  now  about  120  females  in  his  herd,  nearly  half 
of  the  number  being  I'ed,  the  balance  red-and-white  and  roan,  with  a 
few  all  white.  His  cattle  were  not  in  high  condition  when  I  saw  them; 
they  were  runniiig  out  on  pasture,  and  had  not  been  in  stable,  nor  had 
they  seen  any  other  feed  than  grass  since  last  spring.  1  was  i)articu- 
larly  impressed  with  the  evidences  of  early  maturity  in  this  herd;  in- 
deed  I  have  nowhere  else  seen  such  perfectly  developed  coicfi,  among 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        197 

yearlings  and  two-year-olds,  as  at  Sittytou;  aud  it  is  here  I  think  that 
the  chief  excellence  of  Mr.  Criiickshank's  breeding  lies.  This  feature 
has  given  character  to  the  short-horns  of  Aberdeenshire,  and  so  univer- 
sally is  it  recognized,  that  even  the  breeders  of  the  Aberdeen- Angus 
cattle  of  that  region  all  concede,  so  far  as  I  heard  an  expression  of  opin- 
ion, that  u[)  to  two  years  old  no  breed  will  show  such  a  gain  as  the 
short-horn.  ]Mr.  C.  says  his  aim  has  been  to  produce  a  first  class  beef 
animal  at  the  earliest  i)Ossible  age  ;  and  in  selecting  lis  breeding  bulls, 
he  says  :  "  The  only  questions  have  been,  is  he  a  good  short-horn  ?  aud, 
Will  he  uick  well  with  my  herd?" 

I  have  seen  much  of  the  Angus- Aberdeen  cattle  on  their  native  heath — 
or:  the  pastures  of  thecommon  farmers  of  Aberdeenshire — and  1  certainly 
like  them  well.  They  are  good-looking,  smooth,  fine-boned,  early-matur- 
ing cattle  wherever  you  see  them.  The  Ericas  (a  family  of  this  breed),  as 
bred  by  Sir  George  McPhersoii  Grant,  pleased  me  best,  ou  account  of 
their  comparative  lightness  of  bone  and  compact,  level,  beefy,  car- 
casses. Sir  George  has  either  succeeded  in  fixing  a  strong  family  type 
in  these  Ericas,  or  else  he  has  shrewdly  retained  those  that  approxi- 
mate closely  to  this  type  among  those  bred  by  him,  and  has  sold  the 
rest.  The  Prides  (another  popular  Aberdeen- Angus  family)  are  larger 
than  the  Ericas,  and  certainly  have  not  quite  the  finisli  and  style  of  the 
latter,  but,  judged  by  the  show-yard  triumphs  of  this  year,  they  are  not 
a  whit  behind  them  in  ])opular  favor  ;  indeed  I  am  inclined  to  the  opin- 
ion that  the  show-yard  ledger  of  this  year  displays  a  decided  balance 
to  the  credit  of  the  Prides.  But  this  may  be,  to  a  considerable  degree, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  the  Ballindalloch  herd  from  the  Highland 
sjiow.  • 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  was  compelled  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  a 
\  isit'  to  Herefordshire.  The  "  white-fVices,"  as  the  Hereford  cattle  are 
often  called,  have  gained  so  firm  a  footing  and  have  become  so  widely 
popular  in  America  that  I  very  much  desired  to  see  them  on  their  native 
pastures.  I  had  arranged,  while  at  the  Eoyal  show,  to  spend  all  of 
the  last  wee-k  of  my  stay  in  England  among  the  Hereford  breeders,  tim- 
ing my  visit  there,  by  special  invitation,  with  reference  to  an  important 
gathering  of  Hereford  breeders  that  was  to  take  place  at  that  time, 
but  at  the  last  moo'cntl  was  comi)elled  by  urgent  business  demands  to 
send  my  regrets  to  Hereford  and  turnmyse.f  homeward,  without  the 
coveted  visit  to  Herefordshire,  as  well  as  to  many  other  places  that  I  had 
hoped  to  see  before  my  return.  What  I  have  seen  of  this  very  popular 
breed,  however,  has  only  conlirme<l  my  i)revious  favorable  impression 
of  them  as  grazing  cattle.  But  must  I  be  ])ern)itted  to  say  of  them,  as 
I  have  already  said  of  the  shorthorns,  that  judging  by  what  1  have 
seen  of  them  in  both  countries,  the  enteri)rise  and  good  judgment  of 
American  buyers  have  already  transferred  the  cream  of  the  breed  to 
the  United  States 


198  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS, 

ENGLISIT   AND    SCOTOII    DRAFT    HORSES. 

Another  very  proiiiiiieiit  feature  of  the  Engiisli  and  Scotch  show-yards 
was  tlie  cart  or  draft  lior-es,  the  Clydesdales  taking-  the  lead  in  Scotland 
and  the  shire  horses  in  England.  So  much  cross'ug  and  mingling  of 
blood  has  been  practiced  by  the  horse  breeders  of  these  two  countries 
that  it  is  really  very  difficult  to  tell  where  the  one  leaves  off  and  the 
other  begins.  In  fact,  I  have  never  yet  been  able  to  find  a  horseman 
whose  eye  was  critical  enough  to  enable  him  to  say  positively  whether 
a  given  animal  belonge.l  to  the  one  or  the  other  bred,  unless  he  knew 
beforehand  who  the  animal  belonged  to,  or  where  it  came  from.  But 
as  each  breed  now  has  its  own  stud-book  it  is  not  unlikely  that  a  greater 
distinction  than  is  now  apparent  may  grow  up  in  the  near  future.  Judg- 
ing by  what  appeared  to  be  the  prevailing  type  of  the  two  breeds,  as  I 
saw  them,  I,should  say,  if  there  is  any  difference  in  them,  that  the  shire 
horse  was  relatively  better  and  stronger  in  the  heart,  back,  and  flank, 
than  his  Scotch  rival ;  but,  as  before  remarked,  the  most  critical  horse- 
man would  be  puzzled  to  give  a  good  reason  why  they  might  not  be 
classed  as  one  and  the  same  breed.  They  are  certainly  most  excellent 
horses,  and  for  heavy  draft  it  is  doubtful  if  their  sujjeriors  can  be  found 
in  any  country.  Large  numbers  of  them  are  now  annually  being  taken 
to  the  United  States,  the  honors  being  about  equally  divided  between 
them  and  the  Percheron  horses  of  France.  The  Clydesdale  and  the 
Shire  horses  have  each  had  a  stud-book  for  some  5  or  G  years  past,  and 
the  effect  has  doubtless  been  to  cause  greater  attention  to  be  paid  to 
genealogy  than  was  possible  under  the  former  order  of  things ;  and  } 
American  importers  now  have  a  much  more  reliable  guaranty  of  purity 
of  blood  than  they  could  possibly  have  without  these  published  records.  .. 
With  the  publication  of  the  Percheron  stud-book,  to  which  I  have  be-  m 
fore  alluded,  it  may  now  be  said  that  our  American  importers  have  a  * 
stud  or  herd  book  to  rely  upon  for  every  breed  of  horses  and  cattle  that 
is  brought  to  our  country,  whether  from  Great  Britain  or  the  Conti- 
nent. 

DANGERS     FROM    INFECTIOUS     DISEASES. — SUGGESTIONS    AFFECTING 
OUR   EXPORTS    OF    LIVE    CATTLE. 

In  conclusion  permit  me  to  say  that  I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  I  have 
only  imperfectly  covered  the  subjects  to  which  my  attention  was  directed 
by  you  in  my  appointment.  The  time  which  I  was  able  to  give  to  each 
branch  of  the  subject  was  necessarily  brief;  and  some  of  them  I  have 
been  compelled  to  forego  almost  entirely.  I  cannot  close,  however, 
without  again  calling  attention  to  the  very  general  prevalence  of  foot- 
and-mouth  disease  among  the  cattle  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  great  dan- 
ger which  exists  of  the  transportation  of  this  pest  to  our  own  herds  and 
flocks,  through  the  frequent  importations  that  are  now  being  made  from 
that  country.     The  system  of  quarantine  now  being  maintained  by  our 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         19& 

Goverimieiit  against  all  iiiii)orted  cattle  affords  very  good  security  agairst 
infection,  through  the  bovine  species;  but  sheep,  swine,  and  goats,  are 
equally  suscei)tible  to  this  disease,  and  are  quite  as  likely  to  bring  it  ta 
our  shores  asare  thecattle.  Unfortunately  tiiereis  nolaw  authorizing  a 
quarantine  of  any  imported  animals  other  than  cattle,  and  herein  lies 
our  greatest  i)resent  danger.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Congress  may  be 
induced  at  a  very  early  period  in  its  next  session,  to  confer  the  neces- 
sary authority  for  enforcing  quarantine  against  sheep,  goats,  and  swine, 
as  well  as  cattle  from  all  foreign  countries,  so  that  our  flocks  and  herds 
may  be  effectually  guarded  against  this  the  most  infectious  of  all  animal 
plagues. 

1  deem  it  important  also  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  rigid  system  of  inspection  of  all  live  cattle  exported  from 
this  country  and  a  strict  supervision  of  the  ships  used  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  the  cattle  from  our  ports,  to  the  end  that  none  but  healthy 
cattle  shall  be  placed  on  board  and  that  the  facilities  for  promoting  the 
health  and  comfort  of  the  animals  during  the  voyage  shall  be  ample,  is 
of  the  highest  possible  importance  in  its  bearing  on  the  future  of  our 
export  trade  with  Great  Britain.  In  a  conversation  between  Professor 
Brown,  the  chief  veterinary  adviser  of  the  British  privy  council,  and 
myself  upon  this  point,' he  dwelt  with  especial  emphasis  ui)ou  the  im- 
portance of  attention  to  these  matters  on  the  part  of  our  Government. 
Americans  as  a  class  are  very  jealous  of  governmental  interference  with 
trade  and  commerce,  and  cattle  shippers  especially  are  opposed  to  any 
regulations  that  shall  interfere  in  the  least  with  their  present  freedom 
of  action.  But  the  interests  of  the  farmers  of  the  United  States,  the 
men  who  raise  the  cattle  for  export,  are  paramount  to  those  of  the  few 
who  are  engaged  in  the  export  trade.  And  no  consideration  of  a  ver\^ 
slight  reduction  in  the  per  cent,  of  profit  which  these  dealers  may  real- 
ize should  be  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  adoption  of  regulations^ 
which  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  permanence  of  the  traffic. 

Respectfully  subm i tted . 

J.  H.  SANDERS. 

Chicago,  October  'M),  1883. 


REPORT  OF  DR.  RUSH  SHIl'I'EX  Hl'lDEEOrER. 

Sir  :  Twenty  years  ago  an  International  Cattle  Show  was  held  at 
Hamburg,  Germany.  This  exhibition  attracted  a  great  deal  of  interest; 
it  proved  a  financial  success  to  the  citizens  who  guaranteed  the  cost; 
it  brought  valuable  agricultural  iiroducts  and  animals  from  England 
France,  and  other  countries,  and  it  was  encouraged  by  numerous  ex- 
hibits and  an  activ^e  committee  from  the  United  States.  The  effects 
of  this  exhibition  in  iSTorth  Germany  were  lasting.  Valuable  breeding 
animals  were  bought  from  the  foreign  exhibitors,  and  the  numerous 
German  farmers  who    attended   saw  and    appreciated  the  improved 


200  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

metliodsof  tilliugtbesoil,  breeding,  caring  for  and  feeding  their  animals, 
and  eoononiizing  the  i)roducts.  Some  of  the  committee  of  the  exhibi- 
tion of  1803  were  still  taking  an  active  interest  in  agricultural  matters 
when  the  present  Hamburg  Cattle  Show  was  proposed,  and  they  found 
a  prompt  support  in  offering  to  the  people  another  ''  concours  "  to  show 
the  advance  which  had  been  made  in  the  two  decades.  In  the  exhibi- 
tion of  1883  but  few  of  the  foreign  countries  lent  the  support  which 
such  au  undertaking  deserved,  and  the  exhibits  were  confined  almost 
entirely  to  Germany,  with  her  closely  related  neighbors  of  Holland, 
Denmark,  and  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire. 

The  exhibition  was  opened  on  the  3d  of  July,  1883.  The  buildings 
were  well  arranged  and  every  accommodation  for  the  animals  was  pro- 
vided, the  details  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  accompanying  catalogue. 

The  exhibits  were  divided  into  nine  sections,  viz  : 

1.  Horses. 

2.  Horned  cattle. 

3.  Sheep. 

4.  Swine. 

5.  Bees  and  the  apparatus  connected  with  their  care. 

6.  Fish. 

7.  Fowl, 

8.  Stalls,  buildings,  agricultural  implements,  &c. 

9.  Scientific  apparatus  and  methods  of  teaching  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  agriculture. 

Section  I. — Horses. 

Division  A. — Classes  1  to  4  were  composed  of  thoroughbreds,  which 
presented  no  j^articular  interest.  Among  the  stallions  one  of  the  best 
was  au  American,  ^'  Imagination,"  born  1874,  by  Longfellow  out  of  a 
Lexington  mare. 

Classes  5  to  6  contained  several  excellent  Arabs,  which  have  been 
of  great  use  in  Germany,  as  in  France  and  elsewhere,  in  improving  the 
local  breeds  of  horses  before  crossing  them  with  the  thoroughbreds. 

Division  B. — Classes  7  to  12  called  for  riding,  hunting,  and  cavalry 
horses  and  mares,  of  three  years  and  over,  raised  in  Germany,  Austro- 
Hungary,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway.  These  classes  were  largely 
filled  with  good  animals,  especially  from  Austria,  as  the  horses  from 
this  country  showed  much  more  blood. 

Division  D. — Classes  13-1")  were  for  the  same  class  of  animals  from  any 
country.  England  only  of  foreign  countries  was  represented  with  sev- 
eral good  animals  from  the  Stand  Stud  Coinpiny,  but  the  first  i)rize 
was  awarded  to  the  rei)resentative  of  the  Koyal  Prussian  stud.  In  this 
division  American  horses  could  have  been  shown  with  specjial  profit. 
Equally  good  horses  might  have  been  sent  from  New  York  State  and 
the  whole  Alleghany  ritlge,  with  an  advantage  of  price  on  their  side, 
even  with  the  ciost  of  tran.si)ortation  and  risk  added. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    AXIMALS.        201 

Divifihn  E. — Foals  of  tlie  previous  classes. 

DivisionF. — Heavy  carriage  horses. — This  division  was  complete  iu  stal- 
lious,  mares  and  colts,  and  presented,  perhaps,  one  of  the  richest  shows 
among"  the  horses.  From  the  many  studs  represented  the  most  useful 
for  the  United  States  would  })r()bal)ly  be  the  animals  of  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Oldenburg.  These  are  magnificent  beasts  of  full  10  hands, 
short  coupled,  tine,  strong  neck,  legs  well  ])laced  {cVaplomh)^  and  good 
feet.  The  developing  horses  are  of  sufficient  size  for  the  farmer  to  use 
economically  while  he  is  preparing  animals,  which,  if  they  are  at  fault 
as  valuable  carriage  horses,  are  still  strong  enough  to  sell  or  keep  for 
hard  work. 

Division  G  contained,  in  addition  to  the  preceding,  a  few  good  Eng- 
lish horses. 

Division  H. — Strong  horses  for  agricultural  and  industrial  work.  The 
Clydesdales  were  entirely  wanting.  Several  fine  representatives  of  the 
Shire  horse  were  shown,  the  largest  weighing  some  1,900  pounds,  but 
all  except  a  stylish  mare  were  sleepy  and  had  unfortunately  flat  feet. 

Classes  31  to  34  failed  to  obtain  any  representation  from  the  superb 
French,  Belgium,  and  Xorische  or  Pinzgauer  races.  The  first  two  are 
so  well  known  in  the  United  States  that  it  is  useless  to  speak  of  them, 
but  the  Pinzgauer  should  be  better  known.  Originating  (historically) 
in  the  Pinzgauer  and  Styria  these  immense  active  horses  have  ever 
since  been  kept  in  all  their  purity.  They  were  described  and  drawn 
from  by  the  ancient  Romans,  and  in  the  Middle  Ages  they  furnished 
the  mounts  of  most  of  the  German  and  I^orth  Italian  warriors.  Their 
full  blood  has  always  exercised  a  strong  intluence  upon  the  countries 
directly  surrounding  the  South  of  Austria,  but  the  limited  territory  in 
which  they  are  produced  in  their  purity  has  been  a  barrier  to  their 
wider  dissemination,  and  of  late  years  their  export  has  been  almost 
entirely  limited  to  Munich  and  Vienna.  Fine  examples  of  this  race  can 
be  met  with  in  these  two  cities,  but  they  are  best  seen  on  the  Styriau 
Mountains,  where  they  usually  work  with  a  load  on  the  back  and  go 
over  the  heights,  on  a  narrow  foot  path,  as  surely  as  a,  mule,  with  the 
advantage  of  greater  speed  and  the  strength  for  a  greater  load.  As 
our  agriculturists  are  now  bringing  so  many  of  the  large  European 
horses  to  America,  and  the  i)ri(!e  of  English  and  French  horses  have 
advanced  so  much  in  the  last  few  years,  it  would  be  well  for  them  to 
pay  attention  to  these  animals,  which  can  be  procured  for  less  money. 
From  Denmark  were  shown  some  fine  horses  with  a  good  deal  of  blood 
and  weighing  from  l,30i>  to  1,500  i)Ounds. 

A  few  Ardenners  were  exhibited  in  harness,  but  none  of  the  pure 
type  which  was  so  renowned  in  the  old  jiosting  service,  and  has  now 
become  so  rare,  as  it  has  unfortunately  been  rendered  coarse  and  lym- 
phatic by  crossing  with  the  large  Flemish  and  English  animals. 


202  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Section  B. — Ponies. 

Among  the  i)onies  no  type  or  race  was  especially  exemplified,  except 
from  Norway.  The  Scandinavian  horses  are  magnificent  heavy  ponies 
of  13  to  14  hands,  with  short  l)acks  well  modeled,  short,  strong  set  legs, 
good  feet,  and  an  intelligent  head  with  a  large  open  eye. 

These  animals  keep  in  good  condition  with  a  small  qnantity  of  poor 
food,  and  are  adapted  to  monntain  work.  They  walk  very  fast  and 
trot  wonderfully.  They  are  good  workers  in  harness,  though  thev  are 
usually  used  under  saddle,  and  carry  the  big  Norwegian  peasant  as 
easily  as  they  would  a  child.  They  could  be  iii^ofitably  raised  in  any  ot 
the  mountainous  distiicts  of  America,  and  would  make  an  excellent 
mount  for  the  cavalry  in  the  West.  Their  i)rice  is  very  low.  and  the 
cost  of  transporting  them  would  be  less  than  for  large  horses.  There 
was  no  exliibit  of  mules  and  asses. 

Section  II. — Cattle. 

The  show  of  cattle  was  the  great  feature  of  the  exhibition,  although 
it  was  almost  confined  to  the  series  of  coast  cattle.  The  present  divis- 
ion of  these  cattle  deserves  special  attention,  as  the  American  nomen- 
clature has  been  decidedly  arbitrary'. 

It  is  only  within  recent  date  that  the  proprietors  and  agriculturists 
have  become  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  establishing  definite  lines 
between  the  cattle  of  each  locality,  where  the  animals  showed  some 
particular  merit;  and  in  order  to  retain  the  purity  of  their  herds,  which 
was  threatened  by  the  increased  facilities  of  commerce,  they  have  found 
the  solution  of  their  i)roblem  in  the  establishment  of  "herd  books." 

The  catalogue  called  for  a  first  division  into  the  Marschschlage,  or 
those  families  of  animals  coming  from  the  lower  country  and  into  the 
Geestschlage,  or  those  coming  irom  the  higher  and  more  inland  coun- 
tries. In  the  Marschschlage  series  are  the  East  Frisians,  Oldenburg- 
ers,  Hollanders,  Wilstermarscli,  and  Breitenburgers ;  in  the  second 
series  there  are  families  from  the  first  three  of  the  preceding,  the  Au- 
gelers  and  the  Jutlanders.  Of  these  groujjs  the  Wilstermarsch,  Breit- 
enburgers, Angelers,  and  -latlanders  are  in  general  terms  "  Holsteiu" 
cattle,  and,  except  the  last,  have  nothing  whatever  in  common  with 
the  West  Frisian,  Oldenbnrgers,  and  Hollanders,  which  are  the  so- 
called  Ilolstein  cattle  in  America.  The  generic  name  of  "Holsteiu" 
as  applied  to  any  race  of  cattle  does  not  exist  in  North  Germany  or  the 
Netherlands.  The  Wilstermarsch  and  Breitenburgers  present  no  special 
interest  for  the  American,  as  they  are  simply  two  good  breeds  of  cattle 
which  are  fair  milkers,  and  owe  their  milk  qualities  to  the  crossing  of 
short-horns  on  the  large  native  race,  a  bony  aud  coarser  cattle.  The 
Jutlanders,  ( )ldenl)nrgers,  and  a  part  of  the  Frisians,  especially  that 
part  of  the  latter  to  the  east,  have  also  felt  the  infiuence  of  the  short- 
horns to  a  very  great  extent,  but  the  native  breeds  were  generally 


J 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         203 

strong  enough  to  retain  their  color  and  their  milking  qualities.  The 
continental  preference,  which  formerly  bought  only  white  short-horns, 
aided  })robably  in  the  retention  of  the  white  and  black  color.  While 
some  of  the  families  of  those  breeds  are  almost  ty])ical  short-horns  in 
form,  a  large  number  api)roach  the  Dutch  and  Frisian  so  closely  that 
mistakes  between  them  would  be  excusable.  However,  the  lower  flank, 
the  larger  hip,  the  finer  development  of  the  thorax,  the  shoulder-gutter, 
the  fine  head,  and  the  other  milk  characteristics  distinguish  the  families 
from  Holland  and  Friesland.  At  present  the  most  of  these  cattle,  if  of 
any  value,  are  registered  in  the  herd  books.  While  the  name  of  a 
herd  does  not  affect  its  value,  it  would  be  better  that  the  proper  name 
should  be  given  in  the  establishment  of  foreign  herds  in  the  United 
States.  The  two  groups  of  these  cattle,  with  their  piedominating 
qualities  of  milk  or  beef,  should  be  better  understood  and  separated  at 
the  outset. 

The  Angeler  cattle  are  a  beautiful  race  of  milkers,  with  most  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  Channel  Island  cattle,  including  the  richness  of 
the  fatty  parts  of  the  milk,  but  they  have  their  beef  qualities  better 
developed.  They  are  of  a  uniform  red  color,  with  black  muzzles  and 
legs. 

The  Swiss  cattle  were  scarcely  represented  by  a  few  Simmenthalers 
;ind  Allganers,  while  the  other  celebrated  breeds  were  absent.  The  few 
examples  of  the  beautiful  Swiss  cattle  in  the  United  States  are  too  little 
known.  Their  special  adaptation  to  high  regions,  their  great  milking 
(pialities  and  economical  transposition  into  beef,  would  make  them  a 
most  profitable  animal  in  the  high  cheese-producing  counties  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  elsewhere. 

The  Austrian  and  Eussiau  cattle  were  wanting.  A  few  Rhenish 
(Jura)  and  Scandinavian  cattle  presented  only  a  zootechnical  interest, 
and  the  great  milk  race  of  Flanders  and  the  North  of  France,  and  the 
Salers  and  other  great  work  and  beef  cattle,  were  entirely  absent.  The 
short-liorns  and  Ayrshires  were  shown  both  from  German  and  English 
herds  that  would  readily  have  yielded  the  prizes  to  American  repre- 
sentatives had  these  been  sent.  A  test  of  the  quantitative  and  quali- 
tative milk  production  of  the  various  races  was  carried  on  duritig  the 
exhibition,  of  which  an  analysis  is  subjoined. 

Section  HI. — Sheep. 

This  section  was  only  notable  for  the  magnificent  specimens  of  the 
Uambouillet  merinos,  whi(;h  are  owned  in  quantities  in  many  i)arts  of 
Germany. 

Section  IV. — Swine. 

The  exposition  of  hogs  contained  many  fine  Yorkshires  and  Derk- 
shires,  both  from  (rernum  and  from  English  proprietors;  but  the  finest 
show   was  in  I'oland  (Jhinas,  which   were  almost  all  im]K)rt('d  from  the 


204  CONTAGIOUS    UISKASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

State  of  Ohio,  and  they  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  favor- 
able comment. 

Section  V. — Bees. 

In  this  division  was  a  complete  collection  of  the  breeds  of  bees,  with 
all  the  apparatns  connected  with  their  raising  and  the  utilization  of  the 
honey  and  wax. 

Section  Yf.— Fish  and  Fish  Breeding. 

Besides  a  show  of  the  implements  connected  with  fishing,  a  few  mod- 
els of  fish-breeding  and  artificially  developed  fish  were  shown,  among 
which  was  the  fine  collection  of  carp  from  the  farms  of  Adolph  Gaschat 
Kaniow,  in  Galizia.  This  exhibit  reqnires,  however,  no  details  after 
the  larger  ones  which  have  recently  been  held. 

Section  VII. — Fowls. 

As  no  foreign  exhibit  was  made,  the  collection  of  fowls  can  best  be 
criticised  as  being  composed  of  German  birds.  The  representation  of 
pigeons  was  wonderful,  and  the  catalogue  will  probably  be  of  interest 
to  breeders  of  these  semi  luxurious  but  useful  birds. 

Section  VIII. — Stabling,  Machines,  and  Implements. 

The  moderate  exhibit  of  wagons,  agricultural  implements,  &c.,  was 
almost  entirely  from  the  hands  of  German  and  English  workmen,  and 
certainly  would  have  been  much  more  valuable  if  it  had  had  the  addi- 
tion of  the  standard  American  machines.  The  few  machines  which  were 
modeled  from  American  patents  weie  of  old  patterns. 

Section  IX.' — Scientific   investigation   and  products   in  ref- 
erence TO  Animal  Industry. 

This  section  contained  an  exhibit  which  would  possibly  have  been 
one  of  I  he  least  understood  at  first  sight  by  many  Americans,  but  when 
once  studied  would  have  been  thoroughly  appreciated  and  would  have 
proved  of  great  usefulness  in  showing  the  extent  to  which  European 
governments  interest  themselves  in  aiding  the  agriculturist,  by  fur- 
nishing him  with  i)roperly  educated  men  to  assist  him  in  the  selection 
and  care  of  his  land  and  animals;  and  to  care  for  his  animals  and  pro- 
tect them  when  they  are  sick  or  are  threatened  with  the  epizootics.  The 
first  collection  ^vas  a  well  selected  museum  of  the  books,  specimens,  ap- 
paratus, and  zootechnic  })ro(lucts  from  the  lioyal  Prussian  Agricultural 
High  School  in  Berlin. 

The  second  was  a  similar  collection  from  the  Saxon  Agricultural 
School.  This  included  a  complete  display  of  wool  from  all  the  ovine 
races  and  breeds,  with  an  appendix  giving  a  detailed  report  of  the^toed- 
ing  and  producing  cost  of  the  animal  which  furnished  the  samples. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         'iOo 

From  the  veterinary  departtiient  the  exhibits  contained  a  collection 
of  skulls  of  all  the  domestic  animals,  anatomical  and  patholooical  spec- 
imens, injected  preparations,  parasites  and  wax  models  of  the  same, 
ai)paratns  connected  with  the  use  and  care  of  the  domestic  animal,  &c. 
An  interesting'  selection  from  the  library  showed  the  gradual  develop- 
ment of  literature  i)ertaining-  to  agricultnre. 

The  veterinary  school  and  school  for  blacksmiths,  of  Saxony,  were 
also  represented  by  complete  examples  of  their  methods  of  teaching 
and  the  means  employed  in  their  practical  demonstrations. 

Instrument  makers  showed  microscopes,  trichina  microscopes,  ther- 
mometers designed  for  stable  and  dairy  use,  lactometers,  apparatus  for 
([ualitative  milk  analysis,  &c. 

Agricultural  and  veterinary  literature  was  completely  represented, 
and  contained  many  useful  models  of  records  for  dairy  and  farm  use, 
and  an  extensive  collection  of  all  existing  stnd  and  herd  books.  Silk 
and  bee  culture  was  shown  by  a  full  series  of  the  natural  insects  and 
their  i)roducts,  and  a  duplicate  series  of  the  same,  enlarged  iu  wax  and 
papier  mache.  There  were  also  competitive  prizes  for  essays  and  de- 
signs for  stables  aiul  farm  buildings,  to  be  adapted  to  flat  or  hilly  coun 
tries;  essays  on  the  hygienic  and  other  arrangements  of  farm  buildings, 
manure,  &c. ;  on  the  removal  of  animajs  from  burning  buildings;  on 
animal  ju'oduction  (breeding),  &c. 

Throughout  the  entire  exhibition  the  most  rigid  measures  were  ob- 
served in  regard  to  the  sanitary  police.  A  sufficient  corps  of  veterina- 
rians was  constantly  on  duty,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Johne. 
All  animals  before  being  admitted  to  the  show-grounds  wei^e  passed 
through  an  inspection  yard  and  carefully  examined.  A  constant  watch 
was  continued,  and  notwithstanding  the  immense  number  of  animals 
collected  from  all  of  Central  Europe  and  transported  through  the  great 
centers  of  animal  commerce  on  railway  wagons  and  by  other  means  of 
public  conveyance  no  cases  of  contagious  disease  were  detected,  and 
none  developed  during  the  ten  days  on  the  grounds.  This  fortunate 
result  is  justly  to  be  attributed  to  the  present  complete  and  thorough 
precautions  taken  by  the  German  Government  for  the  inotection  of  its 
animals.  Each  district  is  provided  with  an  ofticial  veterinary  surgeon, 
to  whom  all  cases  of  contagious  disease  must  be  reported,  and  this  offi- 
cial is  empowered  with  the  proper  authority  for  enforcing  the  law.  Each 
department  has  a  superior  veterinaiian,  to  whom  the  district  veterina- 
rians report,  and  he  is  invested  with  greater  powers.  If  the  proprietors 
make  an  immediate  report  of  any  suspected  case  of  contagious  disease  on 
their  farms,  they  are  liberally  indemnitied  in  case  of  loss,  after  the  offi- 
cial investigation,  which  is  one  of  the  official  acts  iu  Germany,  and  ex- 
ecuted promptly.  If,  however,  a  ])r()i)rieto.r  attempts  to  conceal  any 
case  of  contagious  disease  in  his  animals,  he  not  only  forfeits  any  right 
to  indemnity,  but  is  i)unislied.  A  veterinary  surgeon  who  atteudssuch 
cases  and  does  not  report  them  is  even  more  severely  punished.     This 


20b'  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

law  of  liberal  iiulemuity  and  pnuislnneiit  combined  has  proven  most 
satisfactory  ;  it  leads  to  the  prompt  declaration  of  any  outbreak  of  dis- 
ease, and  allows  the  Government  to  exert  active  measures  at  the  outset. 
In  addition  to  these  rigid  measures,  the  precautions  taken  on  all  means 
of  transport  for  their  proper  disinfection  are  thorough,  not  only  in  the 
law  but  in  jiractice.  Railway  cars  which  have  served  for  the  transjiort 
of  any  of  the  domestic  animals  are  immediately  disinfected.  The  large 
railroad  yards  are  provided  with  special  tracks  at  the  side  of  a  building 
containing  boilers  for  an  unlimited  supply  of  hot  water.  After  the  car 
is  swept  it  IS  washed  from  a  hose  with  water  as  hot  as  can  be  handled; 
after  another  sweeping  the  interior  of  the  car  is  washed  with  water 
heated  to  70°  C,  with  soda  added.  This  most  satisfactory  means  of 
disinfection  is  carried  out  at  an  expense  of  only  two  marks  (50  cents)  a 
car,  and  is  paid  b^'  adding  that  amount  to  the  freight  bill. 

The  slaughter  of  all  contaminated  animals,  whether  executed  as  a 
measure  of  sanitary  i)olice  or  for  food,  is  done  under  the  supervision  of 
a  res])onsible  \eterinary  inspector,  and  so  all  attempts  to  evade  the  law 
for  a  little  additional  gain  are  avoided. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  Americans  could  not  have  been  en- 
abled to  exhibit  their  agricultural  i)roducts,  especially  animals,  at  Ham- 
burg, that  they  might  have  shown  the  great  resources  of  the  United 
States,  and,  what  is  more  important,  the  facility  with  which  these  re- 
sources can  be  placed  at  the  disi)osal  of  the  European  market,  as  this  is 
as  yet  little  api)reciated  outside  of  England.  The  cavalry  horse  and 
the  beef  cattle  are  now  the  two  articles  which  offer  a  favorable  and 
profitable  field  for  export,  but  it  will  be  but  a  very  few  years  before  the 
heavy  draft  horse  can  be  added  to  the  list.  For  the  establishment  of 
an  active  and  paying  commerce,  however,  the  European  Governments 
will  demand  a  greater  security  and  guarantee  of  the  health  of  the  ani- 
mals ship[)ed  to  them  than  now  exists.  The  necessary-  encouragement 
for  the  education  of  a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  carry  out  the  State 
laws  and  the  work  of  the  Government  in  regard  to  the  diseases  of  our 
animals  will  aid  very  nmterially  not  only  iu  our  own  protection,  but  in 
the  advancement  of  our  cattle  trade  with  Europe. 
Very  respectfully, 

liilSH  SHIPPEN  HUIDEKOPER,  M.  D., 

Honorary  Co  mm  issio  ner. 

Hon.  George  B.  Loring, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


OUTBREAK  OF  SOUTHERN  CATTLE  FEVER  IN  KANSAS. 


BE  PORT  OF  M.  R.  TRVMBOWER,  V.  S. 


Hon.  (Jeorge  B.  Loring, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture  : 
Sir  :  In  obedience  to  your  telegram,  dated  at  Washington,  October 
9,  1883,  requesting  me  to  proceed  at  once  to  Harper,  Kans.,  there  to  in- 
vestigate an  outbreak  of  disease  among  cattle,  I  toithwith  made  the 
necessary  preparations  and  left  on  the  4  o'clock  train  the  same  day, 
arriving  at  Harper  on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  My  instructio'ns  not 
having  yet  arrived,  I  remained  iu  town  and  made  inquiries  of  different 
individuals  in  relation  to  the  cattle  disease.  I  soon  became  overwhelmed 
with  reports  of  the  magnitude  of  the  outbreak  and  extent  of  losses 
throughout  Harper  and  Barbour  Counties.  I  received  many  reports 
from  different  individuals,  stating  that  such  and  such  persons  had  cat- 
tle dying  daily  at  that  date.  After  deliberating  over  the  matter,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  I  could  do  no  better  than  to  remain  iu  town  over 
Saturday  and  have  some  person  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
I)eople  to  point  out  to  me  the  men  who  were  then  losing  cattle,  as  many 
of  them  would  probably  be  in  town  on  a  Saturday.  Here  I  met  with 
disappointment.  I  met  a  number  of  men  of  whom  it  was  said  that  they 
were  losing  cattle  daily,  but  on  making  a  direct  inquiry  they  almost  in- 
variably said:  "ISTo;  they  were  not  losing  any  now,"  but  named  some 
other  person  who  was.  I  soon  found  out  that  the  better  i)lan  would  be 
to  go  directly  into  those  sections  where  tlie  greatest  mortality  had  pre- 
vailed, and  there  endeavor  to  find  suitable  subjects  for  examination. 
Therefore,  on  Sunday  morning,  the  11th,  I  made  arrangements  with 
Martin  Cochran,  of  Harper,  who  is  well  acquainted  with  that  country, 
to  take  nje  out  into  Barbour  County.  We  left  Harper  about  8  a. 
m.  The  first  ])lace  we  stopped  was  at  Dr.  Joseph  Brock  way's,  on 
the  Nine  Cottonwoods  Creek,  IS  miles  southwest  of  Harper,  in  Har- 
per County.  He  made  the  following  statement:  That  he  moved  his 
cattle,  numbering  75  head,  from  his  i)lace  of  residence,  taking  them 
northwest  2  miles,  on  or  about  the  1st  day  of  May  ;  that  on  or  about 
the  10th  day  of  July  his  cattle  began  to  die,  and  10  head  died 
within  eighteen  day's  time,  nearly  all  of  them  being  two  and  three  year 
steers.  The  disease  then  abated,  rainy,  cloudy,  and  cool  weather  super- 
vening. On  the  1st  of  August  -4  or  o  were  still  sick,  but  making  a  slow 
recovery.     On  the  12th  of  September  the  disease  broke  out  again,  and 

207 


208  COXTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

13  head  more  diet!  in  rapid  succession,  lie  then  fenced  in  a  pasture 
for  his  cattle,  phiced  them  therein,  and  has  not  lost  any  since. 

The  Boyd  herd  of  cattle  (suspected — of  which  more  liereafter)  were 
driven  on  their  way  west  from  Harper  into  Barbour  Connty,  along  a 
freif^htroad  which  crosses  his  range,  upon  which  road  also  oxen  attached 
to  wagons  and  small  herds  of  cattle  were  driven  back  and  forth  all  sum- 
mer, and  cattle  passed  in  the  care  of  herders  every  morning. 

Mr.  E.  Walden,  L*  miles  north  of  Dr.  Brockway's,  lost  all  the  cattle  he 
had — 7  head.  They  died  in  the  month  of  September.  His  cattle  have 
been  near  the  Boyd  trail,  and  also  near  the  Anderson  trail  (another 
susi)ected  herd). 

•The  next  place  I  visited  was  William  A.  Wood's,  on  the  line  of  Har- 
per and  Barbour  Counties.     He  made  the  following  statement : 

Mr.  Boyd,  in  the  month  of  A))ril,  ci'o.ssed  my  range  with  his  cattle;  I  drove  my 
cattle  back,  115  iu  uiimUor,  to  allow  him  to  pass.  A  few  days  later  a  second  herd, 
numbering  900,  were  driven  through  on  the  same  trail.  I  again  turned  my  cattle  back 
to  allow  this  secoud  herd  to  pass;  they  stopped  on  my  range  to  graze  for  two  hours; 
they  then  went  west  to  the  Little  Sandy,  where  they  turned  and  went  northwest. 
These  cattle  were  loug-horns.  I  picketed  1  cow  and  2  calves  on  the  trail  of  these  two 
herds.  The  cow  was  taken  sick  on  the  1st  of  October,  and  died  on  the  12th.  All  of 
my  cattle  crossed  this  trail  daily  ;  5  of  them  were  taken  sick,  but  only  the  1  died. 

I  went  out  on  the  range  to  see  the  one  that  died  on  the  12th  (two  days 
ago).  I  found  her  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation,  and  decided  to  make 
'A:  post-mortem  examination,  I  removed  the  wall  of  the  chest  and  abdo- 
men of  the  right  side.  Found  the  lungs  in  a  nearly  normal  condition  ; 
the  pericardium  contained  four  ounces  of  bloody  colored  serum ;  the 
heart  was  extensively  ecchymosed  on  both  the  external  and  internal 
surfaces,  the  endocardium  being  somewhat  softened  and  pal  r  than  nor- 
mal ;  no  heart  clots  were  present.  The  liver  weighed  13  pounds,  the 
enlargement  being  due  to  hypertiemia  ;  gall  bladder  contained  10  ounces 
of  a  dark  olive  colored  bile,  of  a  thicker  consistency  than  normal ;  spleen 
weighed  4|  pounds  ;  contents,  a  dark  purple  semi-fluid  pulp  ;  a  general 
disintregration  had  taken  place;  urine  bladder  empty  ;  kidneys  normal 
in  color  and  size.  The  fourth  stomach  presented  extensive  congestion 
of  the  mucous  membrane,  especially  towards  the  cardiac  end,  and  many 
small  erosions  exposing  the  vascular  membrane  were  visible  near  the 
pyloric  end ;  redness  and  congestion,  accompanied  more  or  less  by 
thickening  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  small  intestines,  was  manifest 
upon  close  inspection  ;  interstitial  extravasations  of  blood  between  the 
membranes  of  the  cjecum  and  also  of  the  rectum  were  found,  and  the 
feces  coated  with  mucus  mixed  with  blood.  The  uterus  contained  a 
male  calf  six  and  a  half  months  old  ;  the  liver  of  the  fetus  weighed  IJ 
pounds;  spleen  a])parently  normal ;  pericardium  contained  2  ounces  of 
very  dark-colored  bloody  fluid,  also  an  abnormal  amount  of  bloody' 
colored  fluid  was  discovered  in  the  thoracic  cavity. 

1  examined  a  white  cow,  six  years  of  age,  which  was  supi)osed  to  be 
recovering;  she  had  been  sick  for  two  weeks;  pulse  112,  temperature 


CONTAGIOUS    DISKA^ES    OF    D0MK.>TICATE1J    AXIMAI.S.         209 

106°  F.  She  was  lying  down.  I  made  her  get  up;  her  gait  ai)i)eared 
very  stiff  and  painful,  and  as  she  slowly  moved  away  she  voided  bloody- 
colored  urine.  She  eats  and  ruminates.  I  examined  another  cow  which 
liad  been  sick  for  ten  days;  pulse  Gi),  temperature  104^'  F;  very  thin 
in  tlesh  ;  eats  and  ruminates.  October  24  saw  Mr.  Wood  in  town  ;  he 
stated  that  both  the  cows  which  I  examined  were  alive  and  gaining  in 
strength  and  health. 

From  Mr.  \Vood's  place  we  proceeded  to  ]\Ir,  Jesse  Boyd's,  in  Barbour 
County.  Here  we  remained  over  night.  During  the  evening  and  the 
followiug  morning  I  received  the  following  information  from  Mr.  Boyd 
and  Mr.  Cochran,  viz:  Mr.  Martin  Cochran,  of  Harper,  spent  nearly  all 
winter  at  Judsonia,  on  Red  River,  White  County,  Arkansas.  Mr.  Coch- 
lan  bought  342  head  of  cattle  in  this  county,  most  of  them  being  in  a 
\  er^'  ])()()r  condition..  attribute<l  to  cold  weather  and  insufficient  feed. 
One  hundred  of  this  number  were  bought  12  miles  north  of  Searcy. 
Mr.  Cochran  collected  242  head  and  drove  them  to  Judsonia  on  or  about 
tlie  24th  day  of  March.  Mr.  Jesse  Boyd  came  to  White  County,  Ar- 
kansas, about  the  1st  day  of  February.  He  bought  228  head  of  cattle 
in  this  county,  brought  them  to  Judsonia,  and  there  he  and  Mr.  Cochran 
pooled  their  cattle,  the  combined  herd  then  numbering  470  head.  Tiiey 
drove  them  55  miles  to  Conway,  a  railroad  station,  adding  at  Searcy  100 
head  more  (those  which  Mr.  Cochran  bought  12  miles  north  of  Searcy). 
They  shipped  at  Conway,  on  the  1st  day  of  April,  the  whole  number  of 
the  combined  herd  (570)  and  unloaded  at  Harper,  Har[)er  County,  Kan- 
sas, on  the  5th.  About  50  of  them  died  on  the  cars  before  they  ar- 
1  ived  at  Harper ;  got  down  in  the  cars  and  were  trampled  to  death.  At 
Harper  these  cattle  (520)  were  kept  for  three  or  four  days,  ranging  north 
i)f  the  railroad  track  and  tra^'eling  over  a  space  of  2  miles,  the  range 
extending  northeast  to  Sisson's  Grove  and  to  a  small  creek  where  they 
had  to  go  to  water.     At  night  they  were  yarded  at  the  stock-yards. 

Twenty  of  theni  being  disabled  were  watered  in  the  yards  and  fed 
on  corn,  cane,  and  millet-hay  for  a  week  or  longer.  On  the  9th  of  April 
Mr.  Boyd  drove  500  head  of  them  from  the  stock-yards,  in  a  south- 
western course,  to  the  edge  of  town,  passed  I.  J.  Campbell's  held,  thence 
west  1  mile,  then  southwest  1  mile,  west  again  8  miles,  crossing  L.  M. 
Pratt's  range  one-half  mile  north  of /^,is  residence,  then  came  on  the  road 
at  the  school-house  on  Bluff  Creek,  thence  along  the  main  road  as  far  as 
Richard  Botkin's  place,  beyond  whose  })lace  they  encamped  one  night. 
From  there  the^'  left  the  road  to  the  south  of  the  trail,  but  came  back 
to  the  road  again  at  W.  E.  Kline's.  From  Kline's  they  i)assed  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  to  the  I^Tine  Cottonwoods  Creek,  east  of  Mr. 
(lardnei's;  here  they  stopped  the  second  night.  From  this  place  they 
l)assed  due  west  iintd  they  reached  Boyd's  range,  on  the  Little  Sandy 
Creek,  4  miles  across  the  Harper  and  Barbour  County  line.  From  Boyd's 
range  102  head  of  these  cattle  drifted  away  and  were  gathered  in  again 
in  the  roiindupin  June  and  July.  They  went  south  to  the  line  of  the 
5751  D  A 14 


210  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

indiiin  Territory,  west  12  miles  to  Medicine  River,  east  2  miles  to  the 
limits  of  the  rauge.  On  the  lOtli  day  of  July  several  of  these  cattle 
were  noticed  to  be  sick,  and  in  a  week  8  were  dead.  Mr.  Boyd,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  held  this  herd  of  cattle,  also  had  140  head  of  Arkan- 
sas cattle  which  he  brou<^ht  in  last  year,  and  were  wintered  by  hioi ; 
he  had  20  head  of  natives  besides,  which  were  also  wintered  by  him. 
At  the  time  that  the  recently  imported  Arkansas  cattle  began  to  die, 
two  of  the  natives  also  became  sick  and  died,  both  the  latter  being 
yearlhig  heifers.  All  of  these  three  different  lots  of  cattle  were  herded 
on  the  same  range  and  drank  out  of  the  same  creek  until  the  latter 
part  of  July,  losing  S  of  the  suspected  cattle,  two  of  the  natives,  and 
none  of  the  wintered  Arkansas  cattle. 

The  20  head  <»f  crippled  cattle  which  Mr.  Boyd  left  at  Harper  were 
driven  into  1.  J.  C/ami)bell's  pasture  field,  located  at  the  western  edge  of 
town,  on  or  about  the  18th  day  of  Ai)ril;  there  they  intermingled  with 
1.50  head  of  native  cattle  belonging  to  Mr.  Campbell.  They  remained 
in  Campbell's  pasture  for  a  week,  then  they  were  driven  out  over  the 
trail  of  the  previous  lot  of  cattle,  as  far  as  L.  M.  Pratt's,  where  they  re- 
mained over  night  grazing  with  some  of  Pratt's  cattle.  From  Pratt's 
they  went  in  a  direct  course  to  Boyd's  range. 

On  the  2Gth  day  of  July,  ]Mr.  Jesse  Boyd  was  arrested  and  brought 
to  trial  for  bringing  into  the  State  of  Kansas,  contrary  to  law,  wild  and 
uudomesticated  cattle,  which  had  spread  a  disease  among  the  natives 
known  as  Texas  fever.  Four  hundred  and  thirty  head  of  the  Boyd  cat- 
tle were  seized  and  quarantined  by  the  sheriff  of  Barbour  County,  were 
])laced  into  Mr.  Cook's  pasture  field,  2  miles  south  of  Mr.  Boyd's  house, 
and  there  were  kept  under  surveillance  by  the  sheriff's  assistants.  The 
witnesses  on  ])art  of  the  State  were:  William  Garrison,  Mr.  Hufacker, 
David  Clough,  W.  W.  Cook,  Albert  Cook,  U.  B.  Moore,  George  M.  Gard- 
ner, J.  H.  Warren,  A.  B.  Rannals,  W.  E.  Mattox,  all  men  holding  cat- 
tle close  to  Mr.  Boyd.  Mr.  Boyd  was  fined  by  the  court  in  the  sum  of 
$300,  aud  sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  for  a  term  of  one 
month.  lie  took  an  appeal  to  the  higher  court.  His  second  trial  has 
not  yet  taken  place. 

On  the  15th  of  October,  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Jackson,  who  has  charge 
of  the  quarantined  cattle.  He  reported  six  deaths  among  them  since 
the  29th  of  July.  On  the  18th'  1  was  again  at  Mr.  Boyd's  place.  I  then 
tested  the  tem])erature  of  4  head  of  his  wintered  cattle  which  registered 
as  follows,  101.8°,  100°,  101.4°,  and  100.0°  Fahrenheit.  I  proceeded  to 
the  (juarantined  herd  and  tested  the  temperature  of  20  head  among  them. 
We  drove  them  into  a  branding  pen.  They  registered  as  iollows:  One 
four-year  old  cow,  102.1° ;  two-year  old  heifer,  103.7°;  three-year  old 
steer,  101.0°;  two-year  old  steer,  103.4°;  yearling  heifer,  102,0°;  three- 
year  old  heifer,  103.7°;  pulse,  (50;  two-year  old  heifer,  101.8°;  two  year 
old  heifer,  102.9°;  yearling  heifer,  102.2°;  four-year  old  cow  with  calf 
at  her  side,  102.0° ;  three-A  ear-old  heifer  (scouring),  102.4°  ;  three-year 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        211 

old  steer,  U)2^;  six-year  old  cow,  102.8"^;  two-year  old  steer,  102.4°;  two- 
year  old  steer,  102.8°;  three-year  old  heifer,  102.6°;  three-year  old  steer, 
102. (!°;  ten-year  old  cow,  103.1°;  six-year  old  cow,  103.2°  ;  two  months 
old  calf  of  the  latter,  104,9° ;  one  lame  cow,  a  stray,  ox  yoke  brand, 
which  has  been  lyin*;  aronnd  with  these  cattle  since  the  Jnly  round-np, 
indicated  a  temperatnre  of  103.7°  F. 

These  cattle  did  not  appear  wild  and  undomesticated,  and  stood  very 
kindly  under  my  examination.  Here  I  wish  to  mention  a  word  about 
the  July  round  up.  In  the  latter  part  of  June  or  the  first  of  July  about 
2,000  head  of  cattle  were  brought  to  and  centered  upon  Boyd's  range  in 
the  round-up ;  nearly  all  of  the  neighbors  of  Mr.  Boyd,  and  many  others, 
came  to  this  place  and  cut  out  their  own  cattle.  Some  of  the  strange 
cattle  remained  several  days  on  the  Boy<l  range.  If  any  cattle  were 
in  this  herd  that  carried  the  germs  of  the  Southern  cattle  fever,  it  fel- 
lows that  all  the  cattle  in  this  round  up  were  equally  exposed,  or  nearly 
so.  In  this  herd  of  2,000  were  about  10  head  of  stray  cattle,  for  which 
no  owners  ai)i)eared,  and  it  is  not  huown  to-day  where  they  belong,  nor 
from  where  they  originally  came.  Again,  Mr.  R.  B.  McGee,  secretary 
of  the  Cedar  Hills  and  Sand  Creek  Pool,  gave  me  the  names  ot  the 
membership  of  said  pool,  as  follows:  McGee  and  Lovett,  Jesse  Boyd, 
M.  B.  Moore,  William  Garrison,  Mr.  Hufacker,  Mr.  Beals,  David  Clough, 
Perry  Clough,  John  McKeever,  John  Elmore,  Hink,  Moore,  Munger 
Brothers,  J.  H.  Warren,  E.  C.  Davis,  Mr.  Holmes,  M.  McGuire,  and 
Mr.  Cross.  All,  or  nearly  all  of  these  parties,  had  a  greater  or  less 
number  of  cattle  in  this  pool  during  the  winter  or  spring,  where  they 
remained  until  about  the  1st  of  July.  If  any  of  the  ground  over  which 
these  cattle  passed  was  capable  of  imi)arting  the  Southern  cnttle  fever, 
or,  if  any  cattle  were  in  this  herd  carrying  the  germs  of  this  disease  and 
discharging  them,  then  all  of  the  cattle  in  the  herd  were  exposed  to  such 
grounds  or  cattle.  On  Monday,  October  15,  Mr.  Boyd  and  Mr.  Cochran 
accompanied  me  to  Mr.  John  Elmore's  ranch,  located  on  range  1  oand  16, 
T.  33,  R.  10  W.,  Barbour  County,  or  four  miles  southwest  of  Boyd's 
range.  Mr.  Elmore  stated  that  lie  held  on  his  range  210  head  of  grown 
cattle  and  40  calves,  all  wintered  cattle  exce[)t  38  head,  whii-li  were 
brought  in  from  Atchison  County,  Missouri,  in  the  spring.  Mr.  Elmore's 
cattle  began  to  die  on  the  1st  day  of  July ;  13  head  died  in  two  weeks; 
the  disease  then  checked  up  but  broke  out  again  about  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember. During  this  month  143  died,  including  3  or  4  spring  cialves. 
Out  of  the  38  head  brought  from  Missouri,  15  died.  He  states  tiiat  he 
<loes  not  know  of  his  cattle  being  exposed  to  any  through  cattle,  or  other 
diseased  cattle,  except  the  Boyd  herd.  Several  of  his  cattle  drifted  away 
ill  the  spring  and  were  gathered  in  the  round-iq);  one  of  them  was 
gathered  in  the  Territory  round-up  some  fifty  miles  south  of  the  line. 

Last  year  Arkansas  and  indian  cattle  were  held  on  this  range  by 
Munger  ]3rothers.  Late  in  the  fall  Mr.  Klmore  brought  362  iiead  of  cat- 
tle irom  Xortheastern  Kansas  and  Northwestern   Missouri  and  placed 


212  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

them  on  this  range  ;  in  two  weeks  thereafter  6  of  them  died  with  Sontli- 
ern  cattle  fever.  (See  Dr.  Detmer's  repoit  of  hist  year's  investigation 
— Moore  and  Elmore.)  During  the  winter  they  lost  lO.S  head,  including 
the  ()jnst  mentioned,  ont  of  the  number. 

From  Elmore's  we  drove  to  Cook's  and  Kannal's,  4  miles  southwest  of 
the  former,  located  on  the  western  side  of  the  Cedar  Hills.  We  found 
no  sick  animals  among  this  lierd;  only  a  small  boy  was  with  them, 
and  he  did  not  know  how  many  they  had  lost. 

I  saw  W.  W.  Cook  at  Medicine  Lodge  on  the  27tli,  when  he  gave  me 
the  history  of  his  losses.  He  owns  a  GOO-acre  ])asture  2  miles  south  of 
Koyd's  residence,  which  was  an  open  range  until  the  12th  of  May,  when 
he  fenced  it  in  with  barbed  wire.  He  bought  from  Mr.  Perry  Clough 
140  head  of  cattle  on  the  1st  day  of  April.  They  were  wintered  on  this 
range.  In  the  month  of  May  5  bulls  were  added,  and  on  the  10th  of 
June  217  head  of  cattle  were  brought  from  Kingman  County.  These 
217  head  were  bought  from  three  different  parties — Williams,  Lowry, 
and  Fowler.  He  drove  them  in  two  lots.  The  tirst  lot,  composed  of 
41  head,  were  driven  south  along  Sand  Creek,  corraled  one  night  in 
Mr.  Carlysle's  corral,  12  miles  northeast  of  Medicine  Lodge,  and  then 
brought  on  the  range. 

Thesecondlot,  176head,  were  broughtfrom  the Chikaskia River, driven 
south  through  Dr.  Wisner's  range,  and  on  south,  crossing  Mr.  Boyd's 
range  on  their  way  to  Cook's  pasture,  arriving  at  their  point  of  destina- 
tion on  the  12th  of  June.  His  cattle  began  to  die  on  the  9th  of  July  ; 
on  the  14th,  9  were  dead  and  7  sick.  The  cattle  were  then  moved  south 
of  Kannal's  range,  south  and  west  of  the  Cedar  Hills ;  the  7  sick  ones 
were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  pasture,  5  of  which  died  and  2  recovered. 
On  the  29th  of  August  his  cattle  began  to  die  on  the  range,  and  he  lost 
in  all  75  out  of  3'M  head  ;  10  or  15  that  were  sick  recovered.  Change 
of  pasture  was  not  beneficial  in  this  case.  Mr.  Albert  Cook,  wlio  took 
care  of  W.  W.  Cook's  cattle,  testified  at  the  Boyd  trial  that  some  of 
their  cattle  got  out  of  the  pasture  and  others  got  into- it,  by  breaking 
down  the  wires.  This  must  have  occurred  between  the  12th  of  May  and 
the  14th  of  July.  Mr.  Kannal's,  north  of  Cook's  range,  lost  30  out  of 
150  head  during  the  month  of  September.  These  were  close  herded 
since  the  1st  of  July.  Mr.  Kannal's  and  a  part  of  Mr.  Cook's  cattle 
were  exposed  to  the  Boyd  cattle,  and  also  to  all  other  cattle  in  the 
county  round-up. 

From  Mr.  Cook's  range  we  went  to  K.  B.  McGee's,  on  the  Little  Salty, 
T.  34,  K.  10  W.  McGee  and  Lovett  hold  200  head  of  cattle  ranging  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Little  Salty,  1  mile  north  of  Hazleton.  The  first 
loss  in  their  herd  occurred  on  the  15th  of  September ;  21  died  to  date ; 
8  remain  sick,  but  are  recovering.  One,  a  5-year-old  bull,  died  last  night 
or  this  morning.  I  desired  to  nmke  a  post-inorteni  examination  of  the 
bull,  to  which  McCxce  readily  gave  his  (consent  and  assistan(;e.  We 
found  him  lying  on  the  left  side ;  a  few  droi)s  of  bloody  water  were  dis- 


I 


i 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        213 

tributed  over  the  surface  of  bis  body.  I  removed  the  right  fore  leg  and 
shoidder,  the  wall  of  the  chest  and  abdomeu.  The  animal  was  not  very 
fat,  but  the  fat  was  the  color  of  yellow  beeswax,  with  a  slight  greeuish 
tiut  added  to  it.  1  removed  the  spleen,  but  in  doing  so  I  had  to  use  the 
utmost  precaution  in  handling  it  so  as  not  to  rupture  its  covering  mem- 
brane. The  organ  was  of  an  enormous  size,  and  apparently  distended 
to  its  utmost  capacity,  weighing  after  removal  13  pounds  and  measuring 
30  inches  in  length.  1  next  removed  the  digestive  organs.  Thecontents 
of  the  third  stomach  were  slightly  hardened;  the  lining  of  the  fourth 
stonmch  presented  numerous  and  extensive  patches  of  denuded  surface 
of  irregular  forms,  and  many  of  them  having  an  ulcer-like  appearance. 

There  was  considerable  capillary  congestion  of  the  mucous  membrane 
throughout  the  intestinal  canal;  a  few  of  the  intestinal  glands  appeared 
to  be  enlarged  and  were  changed  in  color  to  a  grayish  blai-k.  The  liver 
weighed  24^  pounds;  its  structure  was  somewhat  softened  by  a  fatty 
degeneration,  and  impressions  of  the  fingers  were  left  upon  it  as  is  com- 
mon ill  fjedematous  swellings.  The  gall-bladder  contained  32  ounces 
of  bile  of  normal  color,  but  was  rendered  more  or  less  viscid  and  gluti- 
nous by  the  admixture  of  mucus  from  the  internal  surftice  of  the  gall- 
bladder; the  walls  of  the  gall-bladder  itself  were  thickened,  caused  by 
tumefaction  of  the  mucous  coat.  The  urine-bladder  contained  a  gallon 
or  more  of  a  brownish-red  colored  urine,  specific  gravity  1.008.  The  left 
kidney  weighed  4i  pounds;  was  darker  in  color  than  normal.  The  gland- 
ular structure  of  the  right  kidney  was  entirely  absorbed;  the  pelvis 
and  some  of  the  larger  ducts  had  become  changed  into  cysts,  containing 
a  clear  amber  colored  fluid  possessing  the  smell  of  healthy  urine.  It 
l)resented  eight  of  these  cysts,  each  one  distinct  and  separate  from  the 
other,  and  all  taken  together  formed  in  bulk  about  the  sizh;  of  a  normal 
kidney.  After  the  letting  out  of  the  fluid,  I  had  nothing  in  my  hand 
except  a  mass  of  fibrous  tissue — thereexhted  notthe  least  remains  of  gland- 
ular tissue.  The  heart  weighed  8  pounds;  was  enlarged  and  flabby  ;  the 
external  surface  was  extensively  ecchymosed  along  the  anterior  and 
posterior  ventricular  furrows;  internally,  the  fleshy  columns  were  al- 
.mostof  a  black  color  from  ecchymoses;  no  heart  clots  in  the  cavities. 
Tiie  animal  seemed  almost  bloodless,  the  veins  and  arteries  being  empty 
and  collapsed.  Mr.  McGee  stated  that  this  animal  had  been  lame  for 
the  i)ast  fifteen  months  in  his  right  hind  leg,  andthat  at  times  he  thought 
he  could  not  well  serve  a  cow  on  account  of  weakness  or  pain  in  the 
back.  In  the  latter  j^art  of  June,  McGee  saw  250  head  of  cattle 
crossing  his  range.  They  were  said  to  be  going  into  Arizona;  they  looked 
like  Arkansas  cattle. 

From  McGee's  we  drove  to  the  plac^^  of  Robert  J.  Evans,  having  heard 
that  he  had  several  sick  cattle.  He  lives  about  (5  miles  east  of  Kiowa, 
Barbour  County.  When  we  arrived  at  his  ])lace  no  one  was  at  home, 
but  we  found  a  dead  cow  lying  not  over  ten  rods  away  from  the  house; 
«he  had  the  appearance  of  having  died  within  a  few  hours.     I  proposed 


tM  [  CONTAOIOUS    DISEASKS    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

to  make  a  post  mortem  examination,  even  if  the  owner  was  absent.  We 
found  her  ivstin^j  upon  tlie  sternum,  the  head  thrown  back  to  the  right 
side.  She  was  i)r<)p[)ed  up  in  this  way  by  tlie  nose  touching  the  ground. 
Cadaveric  rigidity  had  ah'eady  set  in;  drops  of  blood  were  dried  on  tlie 
liair  along  the  sides  of  the  neck  and  tianks. 

We  turned  her  over  on  the  side  and  I  opened  her  in  the  usual  way. 
I  found  the  lower  i)arts  of  the  posterior  portion  of  tlie  lungs  in  a  state 
of  red  hepatization,  and  considerable  serous  effusion  had  collected  in 
the  thoracic  cavity.  The  endocardium  was  heavily  congested,  thickened 
and  discolored;  the  fleshy  pillars  in  the  ventricles  were  of  a  dark  purple 
color,  and  the  auricular  appendages  were  extensively  ecchymosed. 
Weight  of  liver,  20  iiounds.  Weight  of  spleen,  4  pounds.  The  gall- 
bladder contained  one  qnart  of  very  dark  green  bile,  which  was. of  a 
granular  appearance. 

A  serous  and  bloody  infiltration  was  discovered  surrounding  the  kid- 
neys. The  urine  bladder  contained  a  very  dark  blood-colored  urine; 
specific  gravity  J. 012;  the  organ  was  thickened  by  capillary  congestiou 
of  the  mucous  coat,  and  a  few  ecchymosed  spots  presented  themselves. 
The  contents  of  the  third  stomach  were  very  much  drier  than  normal, 
and  the  folds  presented  a  congested  and  irritated  appearance;  fourth 
stomach  congested,  and  numerous  small  erosions  and  granular  elevations 
were  to  be  seen  on  the  mucous  surface.  This  animal  did  not  present 
much  biliary  discoloration  of  the  fat,  and  the  Wood  was  not  as  thin  and 
watery  as  is  usual  in  Southern  cattle  fever.  The  uterus  contained  a 
fetus  about  four  or  five  months  old;  it  presented  a  liver  enlarged  to 
three  times  the  normal  size;  the  kidneys  intensely  congested,  and  par- 
tially disorganized  by  softening  and  disintegration;  splf^en  nearly  normal 
in  color  and  size;  the  pericardial,  thoracic,  and  abdominal  cavities  con- 
tained considerable  bloody  colored  effusions  of  serum.  When  I  was 
nearly  done  with  the  dissection,  Mrs.  Evans  returned,  and  she  told  me 
that  the  cow  had  been  sick  three  days.  Another  cow  was  sick  in  the 
herd;  after  some  lively  running  we  succeeded  iu  lassoing  her;  she  had 
b«-eii  sick  four  days;  temperature,  104.5°;  pulse,  96;  nose  dry;  ropy  saliva 
flowing  frotn  the  mouth.  October  20th  met  Mr.  Evans,  who  reported 
two  additional  deaths,  and  two  more  sick.  He  brought  110  head  of  good 
grade  cattle  from  Allen  County,  Kansas,  arriving  on  his  present  range 
with  them  on  the  11th  of  May,  Since  that  time  the  cattle  have  not 
strayed  in  any  direction  3  miles  distant  from  a  central  point  on  the  range. 
The  first  loss  occurred  on  the  ord  of  October,  and  0  have  died  to  date, 
the  20th. 

We  next  visited  Mr.  Parsons.  He  lost  some  cattle  last  year,  attrib- 
uted to  the  bringing  in  on  his  range  of  Indian  or  Choctaw  cattle  by 
Morton  and  Tolliver.  This  year  he  lost  3  out  of  80 ;  they  died  in  August. 
October  20th  he  reports  2  more  deaths  October  23d  reports  2  head  of 
the  oil-brand  cattle,  on  the  same  range  witii  his,  as  being  sick.  Ilink 
Moore  lost  5  out  of  7'iO  head.  Boyd's 'C  ittle  ran  with  his  for  several 
weeks  before  the  roundup  in  July. 


CON'TAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        215 

We  went  north  froin  Parson's  to  Thomas  Brakey's  ranch.  He  lives 
on  the  Medicine  River,  in  Barbour  County,  32  miles  southwest  from 
IIar[)er  and  3  miles  from  Kiowa.     We  remained  with  him  over  night. 

He  came  from  Ciiase  County,  Kansas, last  Septi^mber.  with  301)  head 
of  fine  high  grade  cattle.  In  January  they  were  in  good  condition  and 
thrived  well.  After  a  week's  sleet  and  rain  in  February  they  began  to 
sicken  and  die.  During  the  months  of  February  and  ^Earcli  he  lost  UO 
head.  Some  of  them  died  in  good  condition  and  most  of  them  retained 
a  good  appetite  until  death.  Tbe  majority  would  tirst  show  lameness 
on  the  left  foreleg,  would  then  persist  in  lying  down,  and  many  of  them 
lingered  along  from  two  to  four  weeks  before  they  died.  He  fed  all  the 
corn,  sorghum,  and  millet-hay  thej'  could  eat.  Two  of  them  died  in  the 
month  of  May  while  on  grass.  On  opening  them,  after  death,  the  fat 
[)resented  a  very  yellow  appearance.  Mr.  Rider  also  had  400  head  of 
cattle o'l  this  same  range;  he  lost  75;  they  were  affected  similar  to 
Brakey's. 

Mr.  Brakey  gathered  200  of  his  cattle  in  the  round-ups  in  June  and 
July.  About  the  middle  of  September  one  cow  was  taken  sick;  she 
died  in  a  few  days.  Then  others  sickened ;  some  of  them  lived  five  or  six 
days,  and  others  would  be  found  sick  in  the  morning  and  dead  at  noon, 
lie  took  them  off  the  range  and  turned  them  into  a  cane  field,  but  they 
still  continued  to  die.     He  lost  15  head. 

October  10,  visited  Harry  Matthews,  adjoining  Mr.  Brakey  on  the 
north  ;  he  has  held  30  head  of  cattle  in  his  fenced  range  for  tsvo  years. 
On  the  0th  instant  110  head  owned  by  Charles  Blackstone,  of  the  Eagle 
Chief  Pool,  were  turned  into  Mr.  Mathews'  field.  A  few  days  ago  a 
three-year  old  steer  of  Blackstone's  was  found  sick;  he  died  last  night. 

Pout  mortem:  weight  of  spleen,  8  pounds;  liver,  18.^  pounds;  heart, 
■">i  pounds  ;  extensive  extravasations  of  blood  into  the  walls  of  the  right 
ventricle ;  bile  thick  and  grumous ;  urine  bladder  contained  four  pints  of 
bloody  colored  nrine;  fat  the  color  oi  yellow  bees-wax;  third  stomach 
slightly  impacted  Avitii  dry  food. 

A  three-year-old  white  steer  was  i)ointed  out  to  me,  which  showed  evi- 
dences of  sickness,  manifest  b}'  segregation,  a  weak,  staggering  gait, 
drooping  head,  and  feces  covered  with  mucus.  One  of  the  boj'S  lassoed 
him.  Temperature,  lOG*^;  pnlse,  90.  October  23,  2  more  reported  sick 
and  the  white  one  dead.  I  saw  IMr.  Ewell,  secretary  of  the  P]agle  Chief 
Pool,  in  Harper  on  the  25th.  He  stated  that  no  cattle  died  in  their  herd 
this  season.  Mr.  N.  Sherlock,  of  the  same  pool,  corroborated  the  state- 
ment of  Mr.  Ewell. 

From  Mathews  we  drove  through  a  drizzling  rain  southeast  to  the 
line  of  the  Indian  Territory;  stopped  at  W.  E.  Campbell's  cow  camp. 
Campbell's  pasture  is  fenced  in,  located  on  the  Indian  Strip,  3  miles  wide 
and  \2h  long.  The  cow-boys  told  me  they  lost  0  or  7  out  of  3,500  head. 
They  did  not  show  any  particular  anxiety  to  be  interviewed.  We  then 
proceeded  to  Pryor  and  Miller's  ranch.     They  own  a  fenced  range  in 


216  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  territory  along  the  line  of  Harper  and  Barbour  Counties.  The  cow- 
boys here  reported  a  loss  of  10  out  of  500  head  of  cattle  bought  from 
Hink  Moore  on  the  loth  of  September.  Last  year  they  lost  on  this 
range  50  or  CO  out  of  4,000  with  Texas  fever.  Lost  last  winter  5  per 
cent.  Hold  this  year  0,000  head.  Mr.  Lathau,  east  of  W.  E.  Camp- 
bell's, lost  10  out  of  500. 

We  next  came  to  H.  Hale's  ranch,  28  miles  southwest  of  Harper,  in 
Barbour  County.  He  holds  300-head  of  cattle.  Tlie  disease  broke  out 
among  his  herd  about  the  middle  of  September.  He  herds  his  cattle 
on  an  open  range.     Lost  33  out  of  300;  20  recovered. 

Tbe  next  jdace  we  stopped  was  at  John  Peters'  camp.  He  is  located 
on  an  open  range  6  miles  south  of  Mr.  Boyd's.  He  lost,  out  of  155  head 
of  grown  cattle  and  100  calves,  84  grown  and  12  calves.  Three  of  the 
calves  were  only  2  months  old;  the  other  10  were  March  calves.  One 
animal  died  in  July;  the  remainder  of  the  deaths  occurred  during  the 
first  fifteen  days  in  September.     After  94  had  died,  he  left  the  herd  and 

went  home,  stating,  so  I  was  told,  that  they  might  all  go  to ,  he 

was  not  going  to  stay  any  longer  to  see  them  die.  After  a  few  days  he 
returned,  and  found  2  more  dead;  no  deaths  have  occurred  since  his 
return  to  the  herd.  Let  us  suppose  for  a  moment  that,  had  he  com- 
menced to  exhibit  medical  treatment  at  the  time  he  left  them,  and  only 
2  deaths  occurred  subsequently,  would  he  not  be  justified  in  believing 
that  his  treatment  had  effected  the  change? 

The  Peters  cattle  were  mixed  up  with  the  Boyd  cattle  from  the  middle 
of  Ai)ril  until  the  10th  of  July.  A  stage  road  passes  across  the  Peters 
range,  and  ox  teams  frequent  this  route.  From  the  Peters  ranch  we 
drove  to  Mr.  Boyd's  and  stopped  for  the  night. 

On  the  mornuig  of  the  17th  Mr.  Cochran  and  I  left  Mr.  Boyd's  and 
went  west  3  miles  to  the  residence  of  David  Clough.  He  gave  me  the 
following  history:  His  cattle  began  to  die  soon  after  the  4th  of  July. 
He  lost  35  head  out  of  300  during  this  month;  the  disease  then  disap- 
peared. He  sold  60  head  of  his  cattle  in  August.  In  the  early  part  of 
September  the  disease  reappeared  and  he  lost  30  head  more  out  of  205. 
He  wintered  150  head;  among  these  the  mortality  was  the  greatest. 
The  wintered  cattle  intermixed,  more  or  less,  with  the  Boyd  cattle  from 
the  middle  of  April  until  they  began  to  die.  Two  more  deaths  reported 
October  21.  Mr.  Clough  and  several  of  his  neighbors  made  a  number 
of  jwst  mortem  examinations,  and  he  described  the  appearances  of  the 
pathological  lesions  of  southern  cattle  fever  very  accurately.  Mr.  E. 
C.  Davis,  3  miles  northwest  of  Mr.  Clough,  on  the  Medicine  Lodge  stage 
road,  and  west  of  the  Illinois  colony,  states  that  one  of  his  cows  died 
on  the  1st  day  of  July,  and  that  the  last  death  occurred  on  the  0th  in- 
stant. The  first  aninial  that  died  had  been  running  with  the  Boyd  herd ; 
the  r«'st  of  them  had  been  exposed  to  oxen  that  Mr.  McGuire  bought 
from  !>oyd  in  the  spring.     Loss  (5,  and  3  I'ecoveries. 

The  next  jx'rson  we  saw  was  Mr.  William  (larrison.     (Jarrison,  Beals, 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        217 

and  Hufacker  hold  600  bead  of  cattle  together,  on  an  open  range  north 
of  the  Medicine  Lodge  stage  road,  and  south  ot  Dr.  Wisiun's  range. 
Tlie  three  parties  live  in  the  Illinois  colony.  All  of  their  cattle  except 
80  head  have  been  in  the  Sand  Creek  and  Cedar  Hill  pool.  They  lost 
30  ill  the  mouth  of  July.  On  the  10th  of  September  the  disease  broke 
out  the  second  time  ;  they  then  lost  55  head ;  100  that  were  sick  re- 
covered. These  same  parties  held  cattle  on  this  range  for  four  succes- 
sive years,  and  this  is  the  first  year  that  they  met  with  any  loss  by 
disease.  Mr.  Grarrison  stated  to  me  that  he  l);>iiglit  80  head  of  vaotii- 
uated  cattle  from  the  vaccine  farm  at  Webster  Grove,  Mo.,  all  heifers, 
yearlings,  and  two  year-olds,  with  the  exception  of  12  head  which  were 
yearling  steers. 

He  told  me,  in  answer  to  my  question  whether  or  not  the  steers  had 
also  been  vaccinated,  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  they  told  me  they  could  not 
always  i)rocure  a  sufficient  number  of  heifers  ;  consequently,  had  to  use 
young  steers."  He  says  he  loaded  them  on  the  cars  at  the  Old  National 
stock-yards  at  Saint  Louis,  and  lauded  them  at  Harper  on  the  18th  of 
June.  Mr.  Garrison  rei>orts  that  the  Anderson  herd  of  cattle  went  as 
far  west  as  P.  B.  Cole's  range,  which  is  directly  north  of  their  range. 
Mr.  White,  in  the  same  colony,  lost  2  cows  and  1  ox  out  of  4  cows  and 
6  oxen.  He  kept  them  strictly  under  his  care  at  home.  He  bought 
one  of  the  cows  in  Harper  County,  and  she  came  over  the  same  road 
where  the  McGuire  oxen  had  been  traveling.  These  cattle  died  in  the 
month  of  September.  Mr.  Peltou,  in  the  colony,  lost  2  out  of  20  head, 
1  in  July  and  1  in  September.  T.  B.  Stockstill,  on  the  Medicine  Lodge 
road,  between  E.  C.  Davis  and  M.  B.  Moore,  holds  150  head  of  cattle. 

Two  died  out  of  5  that  were  sick.  The  first  one  was  sick  on  the 
Gtli  instant  and  died  on  the  0th;  the  second  one  died  a  week  later. 
These  cattle  were  close-herded  all  summer,  and  were  uot  in  anj'  way 
exposed  to  the  Hoyd  cattle.  He  thinks  his  cattle  took  the  disease 
through  M.  B.  Moore's.  We  then  visited  M.  B.  Moore,  directly  west 
and  adjoining  Stockstill.  He  stated  that  his  cattle  began  to  die  on  the 
11th  or  12th  of  July,  and  7  head  died  during  the  month.  On  the  15th 
of  September  another  outbreak  of  the  disease  set  iu  ;  they  then  died  off 
rapidly  for  about  teu  days,  wheu  the  death  rate  began  to  diminish. 
Altogether  he  lost  40  out  of  123  head;  5  recovered  and  3  are  yet  sick. 

After  death  drops  of  blood  would  be  seen  to  oozex)ut  of  the  skin  be- 
tween the  legs  and  under  the  jaw  and  side  of  neck.  I  examined  a  sick 
two-year  old  heifer  which  he  was  bringing  in  from  the  herd  as  I  drove 
ui).  Her  temi)eratnre  was  raised  to  107.8^  F. ;  she  passed  feces  cov- 
ered with  mucus  and  blood.  1  also  examined  a  white  cow  with  calf  at 
her  side;  had  been  sick  for  three  weeks  ;  temperature  103.2°  F. 

His  cattle  have  been  close  herded  since  the  lOtli  day  of  .Iiilv.  Three 
of  them  were  cutout  of  the  Boyd  herd  at  the  roiind-iip  in  fJiiiie;  none 
of  the  rest  have  1  eeii  expose*!  to  Boyd's  or  any  other  known  diseased 
cattle,  as  far  as  he  knows.     On   the  25tli  1  saw  Mr.  Moore  again,  when 


2  1  S  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

he  stated  that  the  sick  cattle  whicli  \  had  seen  at  his  phice  were  grad- 
ually recovering.  Mr.  McGuire,  in  the  colony,  lost  0  out  of  GO  head  of 
cattle.  Mr.  McGuire  bought  two  yoke  of  the  Arkansas  cattle  from  Mr. 
Boyd  in  the  spring. 

From  Moore's  we  drove  to  K.  F,  Kemp's  })lace,  4  miles  sonth,  and 
west  of  the  Cedar  Hill.  He  made  rlie  following  statement:  Out  of  108 
head  of  cattle,  05  got  away  in  August  and  ranged  over  the  same  ground 
that  Boyd's  cattle  had  been  grazing  on  ;  they  remained  from  the  even- 
ing until  next  morning;  twenty  days  after  this  exi)osure  they  began 
to  die  ;  10  were  found  sick  in  one  day  ;  they  died  in  from  six  hours  to 
ten  days  after  they  were  taken  sick  ;  15  died  and  15  recovered.  He 
knows  of  4  that  died  which  had  been  on  the  infected  ground.  One  calf 
died,  and  1  calf  that  was  sick  recovered.  He  brought  his  cattle  from 
10  miles  east  of  Harper,  on  the  27th  day  of  March  ;  close-herded  them 
all  summer.  Some  of  the  Boyd  cattle  came  over  on  his  range  in  June 
and  July.  Every  one  found  dead  was  lying  Hat  on  the  side.  When  they 
got  sick  they  quit  eating. 

From  Kemp's  we  returned  to  Boyd's  and  remained  overnight.  Next 
morning,  October  18,  I  took  the  temperature  of  the  quarantined  cat- 
tle as  recorded  in  the  early  part  of  this  report.  We  then  went  south  to 
the  ranch  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Mattox.  We  were  there  told  that  he  lost  7  out 
of  125  head  of  cattle.  He  brought  his  cattle  on  tije  range  in  thesY)ring, 
and  they  were  frequently  among  the  Boyd  herd  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sununer.     AH  of  the  deaths  took  place  during  the  month  of  July. 

From  this  place  we  turned  and  went  north  of  Mr.  Boyd's,  2  miles,  to 
see  Mr.  James  Roberts.  He  lost  1  cow  on  the  6th,  after  a  sickness  of 
five  days  ;  no  others  were  taken  sick.  His  cattle  have  been  on  the  Boyd 
range  several  times  during  the  summer.  Mr.  Keeder,  who  lives  .'3  miles 
east  of  Boyd's,  held  27  head  of  cattle ;  3  of  them  died  during  the 
month  of  July.  Next  we  stopped  at  Mr.  Crawford's,  2  miles  west  of 
Inyo  post-oftice.  They  close-herded  80  head  of  cattle  near  home ;  lost 
none.  They  are  on  a  road  leading  west  toward  the  colony  and  north  to 
Dr.  Wisner's.  Crawford,  jr.,  reports  having  seen  a  herd  of  cattle  pass- 
ing between  their  house  and  that  of  Mr.  Dougherty,  half  mile  north, 
early  in  the  season.     Tliey  were  going  west. 

We  then  drove  to  Dr.  Henry  Wisner's  residence,  5  miles  northwest 
of  Inyo  post-oftice,  in  Barbour  County.  Dr.  Wisner  was  not  at  home, 
so  I  applied  to  Mrs.  Wisner  for  inforuiation.  I  found  Mrs.  Wisner  to 
be  a  regular  M.  D. ;  more  than  that,  she  took  as  much  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  their  stock  as  her  husband  did.  She  superintended  a  post- 
mortem examination  of  a  bull  that  died  about  a  week  previous,  and 
described  the  pathological  lesions  as  follows:  She  found  considerable 
enlargement  and  engorgement  of  the  radicles  and  blood-vessels  of  the 
liver;  the  gall-bladder  was  distended,  with  a  greenish-black  bile;  spleen 
very  hypericmic;  ec(;hymosis  fouml  throughout  the  peritoneal  sac; 
urine  bladder  filled  with  a  highly  bloody-colored  urine — a  deep  wine 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        219 

color;  kidneys  uuiisually  pale  and  somewhat  enlar^ied  ;  feces  in  colon 
hardened.  Dr.  Wisner  l)ought:  in  the  month  of  July  120  head  of  the 
McMuUeu  cattle  on  the  Botkin  rancje ;  a  number  of  them  died  before 
they  were  taken  home.  He  took  them  home  in  the  early  part  of  Sep- 
tember, but  did  not  bring-  them  into  his  inclosed  pasture-lield  among 
his  other  cattle  until  later ;  29  of  them  died  before  they  were  placed  in 
j  the  field,  and  1  after  they  were  moved  in.  These  cattle  were  close- 
herded  and  kept  on  poor  and  dry  feed  by  Mr.  Botkin  ;  after  Dr.  Wisner 
took  them  home  he  fed  them  on  sorghum,  millet,  and  had  good  pastur- 
age. On  an  open  range,  north  of  the  pasture-field  where  the  above  men 
tioned  cattle  were  held,  grazed  300  which  were  being  (-lose-herded. 
Mr.  William  Garrison,  on  or  about  the  20th  of  July,  drove  his  cattle  on 
to  Dr.  Wisner's  open  range ;  Dr.  Wisner  drove  them  back  about  the 
1st  of  October.  Several  of  the  Garrison  cattle  died  while  they  re- 
mained on  this  range,  and  were  left  to  decompose  near  the  pools  and 
stream  of  water  where  the  Wisner  cattle  had  to  drink.  During  the 
month  Of  Uctober  Dr.  Wisner  lost  1  thoroughbred  bull  and  2  high- 
grade  calves  out  of  the  300  head.  In  the  mouth  of  February  Dr.  Wis- 
ner brought  from  Waco,  Tex.,  7  car-loads  of  Texan  cattle,  unloaded 
them  at  Harper,  and  then  drove  them  out  to  his  place.  These  cattle 
intermixed  with  his  other  cattle  during  the  summer.  An  ox-team, 
bought  from  Dr.  Wisner's  herd  of  Texan  cattle,  was  employed  all 
summer  in  hauling  hay  from  Inyo,  or  near  Inyo  post  oftice,  to  Medi 
cine  Lodge.  They  are  owned  by  Mr.  Downing.  This  hauling  was  over 
a  distance  of  from  15  to  18  miles ;  would  probably  take  three  days  to 
make  the  round  trij),  and  it  is  the  custom  of  men  driving  ox-teams  to 
stop  any  where  along  the  road  to  feed  and  to  allow  their  cattle  to  graze. 
These  cattle  passed  by  Moore's,  Stockstill's,  Davis',  McGuire's,  and 
others  living  in  the  colony  and  along  the  road  to  Medicine  Lodge.  I  met 
the  team  about  1  mile  east  of  Mr.  Davis'  house,  and  received  from  the 
driver  (an  Englishman)  the  facts  as  just  stated,  J.  H.Warren,  5  miles 
northwest  of  Boyd's,  lost  4  out  of  40  head  of  cattle  ;  they  died  in  the 
month  of  September.  His  cattle  strayed  away  and  went  on  the  Boyd 
range  several  times  during  the  summer.  On  our  way  back  to  Harper  we 
passed  Mr.  Ganlner's  place,  near  the  Nine  Cotton  woods  Creek.  Both 
the  Boyd  and  the  Anderson  cattle  crossed  his  range.  He  lost  1  out 
of  3  cows.  Mr.  Kepler,  1  mile  west  tVom  L.  M.  Pratt,  had  his  cattle 
staked  on  and  near  the  Boyd  trail  all  summer ;  no  loss. 

We  next  stopped  at  L.  M.  Pratt's,  12  miles  west  of  Harper.  He  lost 
6  cows  and  1  bull.  The  first  one  was  taken  sick  on  the  4th  day  of  July. 
All  died  within  the  space  often  days.  He  made  post-mortem  examina- 
tions of  several  that  died;  found  the  spleen  enlarged  to  three  times  its 
normal  size;  gall-l)ladder  greatly  <listen(led  with  bile;  liver  eidarged: 
bloody  water  in  the  peritoneal  cavity  ;  tallow  of  a  satfron-yellow  (!olor  ; 
in  one  the  urine  bladder  was  filled  with  bloody  urine,  in  another  it  was 
emi)ty.     Many  of  them  passed   bloody  urine  before  death.     Mr.  Boyd 


220  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

passed  oiie-lialf  mile  nortli  of  Pratt's  bouse  with  his  cattle  ou  the  9th 
of  April ;  a  few  days  later  brought  20  head  of  his  cattle  to  Mr.  Pratt's  i 
house  and  left  them  there  overnight.     Mr.  Pratt  had  9  bulls  and  several  < 
milch  cows  at  home;  these  cattle  grazed  with  the  20  head  of  the  Boyd   ' 
cattle,  and  also  grazed  over  the  trail  of  the  Boyd  herd.     On  the  15th 
of  June  Mr.  Pratt  took  8  of  the  bulls  about  8  miles  southwest  to  his 
herd,  and  brought  back  with  him  one  cow  and  her  calf.     This  was  the   i 
first  cow  to  sicken  and  die.     The  8  bulls  remained  well.     On  the  23d  of  j 
June  he  took  to  the  herd  a  dry  cow  and  a  bull;  on  or  about  the  Gth  of  I 
July  both  these  died.     No  strange  cattle,  to  his  knowledge,  passed  along   ' 
the  range  where  the  cows  and  bulls  grazed  except  the  Boyd  cattle* 
After  I  obtained  the  above  history  from  Mr.  Pratt  I  learned  that  a  team 
of  oxen  coming  from  Fort  Sill,  near  Eed  River,  Chickasaw  Nation,  were 
driven  through  by  Mr.  Pratt's  house  and  remained  with  him  overnight; 
this  was  in  the  mouth  of  June.     From  Pratt's  they  went  west,  passed 
Otega  post-office  and  crossed  John  Peteis's  range  in  Barbour  County. 
It  was  now  getting  dark,  so  we  returned  to  Harper. 

October  19,  J  met  Mr.  T.  A.  Barton,  who  lives  in  town.  He  stated 
that  he  had  his  cattle  on  the  range  north  of  the  railroad  track,  but  did 
not  lose  any.  This  morning  we  drove  west  G  miles  to  the  residence  of 
Mr.  F.  P.  Melvin  ;  he  lost  2  out  of  4  head  of  cattle;  one  of  these  died  on 
the  Sth  of  October,  and  the  other  on  the  17th.  I  went  out  into  the  field 
to  ascertain  the  post  mortem  conditions  of  the  latter,  but  found  that 
the  dogs  had  anticipated  me;  had  mutilated  the  body  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  render  it  unfit  for  further  examination.  Mrs.  Melvin  stated  :  ''  In 
the  month  of  August  I  saw  a  herd  of  cattle  going  west,  but  I  don't 
know  where  they  came  from  nor  where- they  went." 

We  then  drove  I  mile  further  west  to  C.  P.  Bradfoi-d's.  He  stated 
that  he  lost  5  out  of  6  head — 2  bulls  and  3  cows.  Two  died  in  October 
and  3  in  September;  Irecoveied.  He  said:  "In  skinning  them  I  found 
the  flesh  blubbering  behind  the  shoulders  ;  urine  bloody  before  death.'' 
This  was  all  he  could  tell  of  the  symptoms  during  lifeand  the  appearances 
after  death.  All  of  these  cattle  had  been  picketed  close  to  the  house, 
and  small  herds  of  cattle  were  frequently  driven  i)ast  his  house  during 
the  summer.  He  stated,  also,  that  Mr.  Burr's  cattle  came  over  among 
his  cattle  while  they  were  picketed,  and  that  his  cattle  had  not  been 
within  a  mile  of  the  Boyd  trail  at  any  time  during  the  season. 

From  Mr.  Bradford's  we  went  to  Louis  Hildebrant's.  He  stated 
that  Charles  Martin  had  bought  60  or  70  head  of  cattle  Irom  Mr.  Potter 
and  had  driven  them  west  and  southwest  of  Harper,  passing  his  (Hil- 
debr;int's)  i)lace  on  the  (>th  day  of  August.  Two  weeks  thereafter  Hil- 
debrant  lost  3  milch  cows  out  of  a  herd  of  12 ;  they  were  all  taken  sick, 
and  2  that  recovered  aborted  their  calves.  The  Martin  cattle  were  taken 
to  the  Botkin  herd. 

Mr.  VVelkci-,  S  miles  west  of  Har])er,  lives  close  to  tlie  Boyd  trail;  he 
settled  on  this  range  on  the  1st  of  April.     He  picketed  G  head  ot  oxen 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASKS    OK    DOMHSTICATKD    ANIMALS.         221 

and  2  cows  on  the  Boyd  trail.  No  loss.  We  next  saw  Mr,  S.  H.  Coyer, 
IJ  miles  northeast  of  L.  M.  Pratt's.  He  took  18  cows  mto  the  Botkin 
herd  soon  after  the  Boyd  cattle  passed  his  place.  One  of  tliein  died  on 
the  Botkin  range,  in  July  ;  he  then  took  them  home,  but  they  continued 
to  die  until  14  out  of  the  18  head  were  dead. 

We  then  proceeded  towards  Silas  M.  Shafer's  place,  north  of  Attica 
post-office.  On  the  way  we  met  his  brother,  who  told  us'that  Silas  lost 
10  out  of  18  head  of  cattle ;  they  died  in  July  and  September.  These 
cattle  crossed  the  Boyd  trail  in  the  spring.  On  the  1st  day  of  July  they 
were  taken  into  the  Botkin  herd,  and  remained  there  until  the  middle 
of  the  month.  In  the  latter  i)art  of  A])ril,  or  beginning  of  May,  a  small 
herd  of  strange  cat  tie  were  driven  over  the  same  trail  that  Boyd's  cattle 
passed  over.  This  trail  is  located  a  mile  south  of  Shafer's  house.  Mr. 
Shafer  has  resided  here  for  o  years,  and  has  never  before  lost  any  cat- 
tle. I  saw  Mr.  Helbert,  who  liveS'2  miles  west  of  Pratt's,  at  Anthony, 
on  the  1st  of  November.  He  stated  that  he  had  two  cows  which  fol- 
lowed the  Boyd  herd  on  the  9th  of  April  for  a  distance  of  2  miles,  and 
that  duriug  the  summer  they  grazed  over  the  Boyd  trail,  otif  and  on, 
without  any  bad  results  following.  We  then  turned  toward  Harper, 
and  on  the  way  stopped  at  Elijah  Yian's  pla'  e,  10  miles  southwest  of 
Harper.  He  lost  30  out  of  100  head  of  cattle  during  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember. Their  range  was  south  of  the  Boyd  trail.  On  the  20th  we 
drove  north  of  Harper  to  gather  the  history  of  an  outbreak  which  had 
occurred  in  that  locality.  We  first  saw  Mr.  A.  S.  Woodward,  who  re- 
sides 3  miles  north  of  Harper.  He  reported  a  loss  of  14  head  of  cattle 
out  of  32.  These  cattle,  together  with  29  head  belonging  to  D.  W.  Fye, 
were  herded  on  the  same  range  all  summer,  said  range  being  H  miles 
square.  One  cow  belonging  to  Mr.  Carpenter,  another  to  Mr.  Creighton, 
were  also  kept  in  this  herd ;  both  of  them  died,  and  20  out  of  the  29 
belonging  to  Mr.  Fye  died.  The  disease  manifested  itself  about  the  1st 
of  September,  and  in  the  space  of  three  weeks'  time  all  of  these  deaths 
occurred.  Eight  in  the  herd  which  presented  evidences  of  sickness  re- 
covered. They  were  all  good  grade  native  cattle.  The  history  as  given 
me  by  Mr.  Woodward  of  the  symptoms  during  life,  and  of  the  2)ost- 
mortem  appearances,  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that  these  cattle  died 
with  southern  cattle  fever. 

Proceeding  from  Mr.  Woodward's  place  eastward,  1  mile,  to  the  resi- 
dence of  JohnChallis,  1  was  there  informed  by  Mr.  Challis,  jr.,  that  12 
out  of  100  head  of  their  cattle  died  and  6  recovered.  Here,  also,  the 
disease  appeared  about  the  1st  of  September.  Forty  head  of  these  cat- 
tle were  brought  from  Donii)han  County  on  the  12th  of  iMa> ,  and  were 
driven  from  the  stock-yards  at  Harper,  4  miles  northwest,  to  Mr.  Chal- 
lis' herd.  Two  of  the  Donii)han  County  cattle  died;  the  other  10 
were  of  the  domestic  herd.  On  the  Otli  of  June,  200  head  of  cattle, 
said  to  have  been  from  Memphis,  Tenn.,  were  brought  into  Harper,  un- 
loaded at  the  stock-yards,  and  driven  north  3  miles,  where  they  were 


222  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

iifteiwaid  close- herded  by  ]\Ii-.  Scoby,  the  reputed  owuer.  These  eat- 
t\^  ranged  south  and  east  of  the  Challis  herd  aud  south  of  Woodward 
and  Fye's  herd,  a  public  road  being  the  dividing  line  between  the  three 
herds.  I  could  get  no  definite  history  of  these  cattle.  Mr.  Oahlan, 
whose  range  was  southwest  of  the  Scoby  cattle,  states  that  8  or  10 
of  the  Scoby  cattle  died  in  the  month  of  September;  that  the  cattle 
were  sold  and  driven  north  toward  Kingman  County;  the  owner  then 
left  Harper.  I  went  to  see  one  of  the  men  who  assisted  Mr.  Scoby  in 
herding  the  cattle,  but  could  get  no  satisfactory  replies  from  him,  other 
than  that  if  I  had  money  to  pay  for  information  he  might  tell  me  what 
1  desired  to  know  ;  that  he  was  paid  by  Scoby  for  the  services  he  ren- 
dered him.  Some  of  these  cattle  were  shipped  to  Kansas  City,  the  re- 
mainder were  taken  northwest  by  trusty  uien  who  would  not  disclose 
their  destination. 

1  went  to  see  Mi-.  William  A.  Creighton,  of  Harper.  He  made  the  fol- 
lowing statement:  That  he  wintered  27  head  of  cattle.  They  were  in 
the  stock  yards  at  night  with  the  Boyd  cattle,  aud  ranged  over  the  same 
ground  north  of  the  railroad  track  with  them  several  days.  In  the  lat- 
ter i)art  of  June  they  were  driven  out  to  L.  M.  Pratt's  herd,  passing 
along  and  over  tlie  trail  of  the  Boyd  cattle;  one  of  them,  a  bull,  was 
left  at  Pratt's  for  two  weeks;  he  was  then  also  taken  to  Pratt's  herd; 
he  died  five  days  after  he  entered  the  herd.  None  of  the  rest  of  the 
27  died,  although  all  were  equally  exposed  to  the  Boyd  trail. 

October  21,  being  Sunday,  1  remained  in  Harper.  At  the  hotel 
where  I  was  stop])ing  1  met  a  gentleman  from  Linn  County,  who  told 
me  that  a  Mr.  Goss,  of  that  county,  lost  00  out  of  70  head  of  cattle  this 
summer  with  Texas  fever.  I  met  also  Mr.  Donahue,  of  Atchison, 
Kans.,  who  holds  cattle  4  miles  east  of  Caldwell,  Sumner  County;  he 
lost  2  out  of  14  head  in  the  month  of  September.  These  cattle  he 
bought  from  Mr.  Cox,  who,  it  is  said,  lost  a  large  number  of  cattle  this 
season.  Having  heard  that  hog  cholera  existed  at  or  near  Wellington, 
Sumner  County,  and  as  you  desired  to  secure  virus  for  the  use  of  the 
Department,  1  therefoie  took  the  night  train  for  Wellington.  I  there' 
made  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  report,  and  w^as  re- 
ferred to  the  mayor  of  the  city,  Mr.  Hamilton.  He  informed  me  that 
a  fatal  disease  had  prevailed  among  the  hogs  on  several  farms  south  of 
town,  notably  so  on  that  of  Mr.  John  Botkiu.  I  proceeded  tp  Mr.  Bot- 
kin's  j)lace,  located  one  mile  south  of  town,  found  him  at  home,  and  ob- 
tained the  following  history  of  the  disease  among  his  hogs  :  I\Ir.  Smith, 
a  near  neighbor,  received  some  hogs  last  year  from  Missouri ;  soon 
after  he  got  them  home  a  disease  appeared  among  them  and  many 
died;  soon  thereafter,  Mr.  Botkin's  hogs  began  to  die,  and  he  lost 
nearly  all  he  had.  Those  that  remained  well  he  sold  in  the  fall,  keeping 
no  hogs  over  winter.  The  hog  p  istureof  Botkinadjoiusthatof  Mr.  Smith. 
A  lai'ge  pond  of  surface  water  is  inclosed  in  Mr.  Botkin's  pasture,  and 
the  siu'face  water  IVom   ^Ir.  Smith's  pasture  flows  into  this  1)om(1.     In 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        2  23 

the  luoutb  of  Juue,  this  year,  Botkiu  bought  a  miniber  of  sows  and 
pigs,  took  them  home  and  i)hiced  them  in  the  same  pasture  tliat  held 
his  hogs  last  year.  Within  a  month  his  hogs  began  to  manifest  evi- 
dences of  disease.  As  there  were  none  in  a  dying  condition  when  1 
saw  them,  I  requested  the  privilege  of  killing  one  for  examination. 
Mr.  Botkin  willingly  granted  the  re(iuest,  and  caught  a  2-months- 
old  boar  i)ig.  He  i)resented  the  following  symptoms:  pulse,  weak 
and  compressible;  temperature,  100'^ F.;  considerable  swelling  across 
the  nasal  bones,  posterior  to  the  wares;  a  large  ulcer,  one  inch  in 
diameter,  opposite  the  first  molar  tooth  in  the  superior  maxilla,  form- 
ing a  deep  cavity  in  the  tissues  covering  the  alveola;  this  ulcer  was  of 
an  unhealthy,  foul,  and  sloughing  character.  Several  small  ulcers  were 
present  on  the  tongue,  possessing  well  defined  borders,  surrounded  by 
a  darkened,  brownish-red  areola;  a  very  offensive  odor  was  emitted 
from  the  mouth.  Several  abscesses  and  ulcers  of  variable  sizes,  from 
that  of  a  pea  to  a  silver  quarter  of  a  dollar  were  discovered  on  the 
abdominal  surface,  and  one  large  and  deep  ulcer  immediately  about  the 
coronet  of  the  right  fore  foot.  (Several  other  hogs  on  the  place  pre- 
sented similar  synii)toms  to  this  one,  but  not  so  far  advanced,  the  first 
and  most  prominent  symptom  being  that  of  the  swelling  across  the 
nose,  accompanied  by  more  or  less  snuffimg.)  They  continued  to  eat, 
and  do  not  lose  flesh  very  rapidly ;  a  few  of  them  suffer  by  diarrhea, 
and  colliquative  diarrhea  sets  in  before  death  takes  place.  (There  is 
no  special  tendency  to  hide  in  the  litter,  nor  is  there  any  roseate  blush 
present  at  any  time  during  the  progress  of  the  disease,  as  there  is  in 
true  hog  cholera.)  I  severed  the  jugular  vein  and  carotid  artery  on 
one  side  of  the  neck  and  bled  it  to  death,  then  removed  the  wall  of  the 
chest  and  abdomen.  1  discovered  a  greenish  yellow  serum  in  the  ab- 
dominal cavity  ;  heart  pale  and'flaccid  ;  lower  lobes  of  lungs  in  a  par- 
tial state  of  hepatization,  abscesses  and  tul)ercles  being  distributed 
throughout  the  affected  parts.  The  stomach  presented  two  extensive, 
irregular-shaped  ulcers,  api)arently  in  process  of  healing,  one  of  them 
measuring  two  inches  in  length;  they  were  covered  with  a  yellowish 
deposit  of  i)us,  mucus,  and  feed  mixed,  which  was  strongly  adherent  to 
the  surface  of  tlie  ulcers.  The  intestines  contained  a  great  number  of 
long  worms,  ascaris  suillce,  and  the  intestinal  glands  presented  a  thick- 
ened, infiltrated,  tuberculotic  condition.  Tlie  liver  was  enlarged  to 
three  times  the  normal  size,  was  of  a  light  olive  yellow  color,  and  nu- 
merous small  abscesses  were  found  within  the  structure  of  the  organ  ;  the 
biliary  du(;ts  were  literally  filled  with  worms  of  the  same  species  as 
were  iound  in  the  intestinal  (;anal.  The  worms  in  the  liver  obstructed 
the  flow  of  bile.  The  gall  bladder  was  filled  wirii  l)right  green  colored 
bile,  thinner  and  lighter  in  color  than  normal.  The  urine  bladder  con- 
tained three  ounces  of  light  green  colored  urine;  kidneys  were  en- 
larged, softened,  and  partially  disintegrated,  presenting  an  olive^green 
color.     The  fat,  and  also  all  of  the  internal  viscera,  ])reseiite<l  an  icteric 


224  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATr^D    ANIMALS. 

appearance.  [  recoiuinemled  a  chaiijje  of  pasture  and  water;  tlie  hog- 
pens to  be  removed  and  the  boards  used  for  some  other  purpose ;  the 
old  hocf  pasture  to  be  plowed  ui),  and  seeded  with  wheat  or  other  grain 
for  at  least  two  years  before  it  should  again  be  used  for  a  hog  pasture. 
I  also  advised  a  destruction  of  all  the  hogs  that,  indicated  plain  symp- 
toms of  the  disease,  and  afterwards  an  entire  change  in  the  breed  or 
family  of  hogs.  I  inclosed  in  a  tin  can  a  ])ortion  of  tlie  Inng,  liver,  in- 
testine, and  stomach  of  the  pig  examined,  and  sent  it  to  your  De[)art- 
ment  by  express,  for  microscopic  examination. 

After  my  return  to  Wellington  I  saw  Mr.  Hamilton  again,  when  he 
told  me  that  he  aud  his  partner,  Mr.  Flint,  lost  10  or  17  head  of  their 
cattle  out  of  yOO  head.  Their  pasture  is  feuced  in,  aiul  is  located  in  the 
corner  of  Kingman,  Pratt,  and  Barbour  Counties,  and  comprises  30,000 
acres.  This  pasture  held  Texan  cattle  last  year.  The  cattle  this  year 
in  the  field  were  not  exposed  to  other  cattle.  The  disease  appeared  in 
the  month  of  September  ;  10  or  12  that  were  sick  recovered.  Changing 
pasture  and  water  seemed  to  oft'er  a  check  to  the  disease. 

1  returned  to  Harper  in  the  night.  On  the  23d  it  rained  hard  all  day, 
and  I  remained  in  town,  I  saw  I.  J.  Campbell,  esq.,  who  gave  me  the 
following  history:  He  owns  h  fenced  pasture  ou  the  western  edge  of 
town.  On  the  10th  day  of  April  Mr.  Boyd  placed  14  head  of  lame  cattle 
in  this  field,  which  already  containetl  150  head  of  natives  owned  by  Mr. 
Campbell :  the  Boyd  cattle  remained  for  a  week  or  more  to  recuperate, 
and  were  then  driven  by  the  way  of  Pratt's  to  the  Boyd  range.  Some 
time  during  the  month  of  July  2  steers  that  were  brought  from  the 
northern  part  of  the  county  were  turned  into  this  field  ;  soon  thereafter 
both  sickened  and  one  of  them  died.  The  steers  in  coming  to  Harper 
crossed  a  number  of  cattle  trails.  N'one  of  Mr.  Campbell's  cattle  died. 
Mr.  R.  A.  Jones,  from  Labette  County,  told  me  that  while  on  a  visit  to 
his  brother  at  Santiago,  Cal.,  last  year,  his  brother  told  him  that  cattle 
that  were  brought  from  Old  Mexico  and  driven  north  into  colder  and 
freezing  climates  in  California  impart  disease  to  native  cattle. 

October  24  we  drove  southwest  16  miles  to  see  Mr.  Richard  Botkin. 
He  held  cattle  belonging  to  Shafer,  Coyer,  Arnold,  Collins,  McMullen, 
and  Martin,  the  total  number  being  502  head.  All  of  them  were  native 
cattle  except  the  McMullen  cattle,  which  were  brought  from  Webster 
County,  Missouri,  reaching  Botkiu's  range  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
remained  until  the  1st  of  Sei)tember.  Dr.  Wisner  took  away  120  head 
of  them,  and  the  remainder  were  sold  to  and  taken  away  by  Mr.  Pctter. 
The  Boyd  cattle  passed  over  his  range  in  April,  and  all  of  these  cattle 
have  been  grazing  over  their  trail.  All  the  deaths  in  this  herd  which 
occurred  while  on  the  Botkin  range  took  place  between  the  2d  of  July 
and  the  middle  of  August.  Loss,  184.  Mr.  Campbell,  at  Otega,  lost 
one  work  ox  out  of  a  yoke  of  oxen  in  the  month  of  July. 

Munger  Brothers,  of  Flarper,  started  from  Harper  in  the  month  of 
May  10  thoroughbred  and  high-grade  bulls;    by  mistake  the  driver 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        225 

turned  them  in  with  the  Boyd  cattle,  where  they  remained  over  night. 
Seven  of  these  died,  and  3  others  in  the  herd  of  500,  on  the  Hiak  Moore 
range.  They  began  to  die  sixteen  days  after  exposure  to  the  Boyd 
cattle. 

October  25,  we  drove  7  miles  west  from  Hari)er,  stopping  first  at  Mr. 
H.  F.  Burr's  place.  Mr.  Burr  stated  that  he  shipped  into  Harper,  then 
drove  to  his  place,  four  lots  of  cattle ;  the  first  one  in  the  month  of  March, 
one  in  April,  one  in  May,  and  the  last  one  in  June;  total  number,  450 
head.  These  cattle  were  brought  from  Colony,  Anderson  County,  and 
from  Coffee  and  Allen  Counties.  Mr.  Burr  wintered  18  head  of  cattle. 
He  has  been  on  the  same  range  for  five  successive  years,  and  has  nev^er 
before  lost  any  cattle.  He  lost  175  head  out  of  the  468  head  this  season, 
and  Mr.  Moier,  his  son-in-law,  lost  on  the  same  range  4  out  of  7  head. 
Mr.  Burr  thinks  that  all  of  his  cattle  except  25  head  had  been  sick.  He 
used  tincture  belladonna  as  a  curative  agent.  Several  of  his  cattle  died 
in  the  month  of  July,  but  the  greater  number  of  deaths  occurred  in  the 
month  of  September.  Mr.  Boyd's  cattle  crossed  his  range  in  April. 
We  went  out  to  his  herd  and  I  tested  the  temperature  of  several,  which 
registered  as  follows : 

o  y. 

Two-year-old  heifer,  has  beeu  sick 102.7 

Oiie-year-ohl  heifer,  has  beeu  sick 104.2 

One-year-old  heifer,  has  been  sick 104.8 

One-year-old  heifer,  has  been  sick 104.2 

Four-year-old  bull,  has  not  beeu  sick 102.9 

One-year-old  heifer,  has  not  beeu  sick 103.4 

One-year-old  heifer,  has  not  been  sick 103.1 

Two-year-old  heifer,  has  not  beeu  sick 102.9 

We  then  drove  1  mile  southwest  to  A.  Hilliard's  farm.  He  lost  1  cow 
on  the  20th  of  July,  and  another  on  the  10th  of  September.  Mr.  Boyd's 
cattle  crossed  his  range  half  a  mile  south  of  the  house.  On  the  18th 
of  June  Mr.  Anderson's  cattle  went  across  the  east  end  of  his  range, 
leaving  probably  80  rods  between  the  two  trails.  Hilliard  has  owned 
a  work  ox  for  the  past  two  years.  This  ox  was  picketed  on  the  Boyd 
trail  a  number  of  times  during  the  summer,  but  remained  well.  While 
I  was  there  I  noticed  a  bull  corraled  near  the  barn ;  he  appeared  thin 
in  fiosh,  and  I  inquired  if  he  was  sick.  Mr.  Hilliard  replied,  not  that 
he  was  aware  of.  I  tested  the  temperature  of  the  animal ;  it  registered 
102O  F. 

An  eight-year-old  cow  was  in  a  separate  pen ;  I  tried  her  temperature; 
it  was  101.8°  F.  On  the  30th,  as  I  was  going  toward  Harper  in  the 
evening,  1  met  Mr.  Hilliard.  He  stopped  me  and  stated  that  the  eight- 
year-old  cow  which  I  saw  in  the  pen  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  his  ])lace 
was  sick.  "She  appeared  stupid  last  night,  and  this  morning  yielded 
no  milk."  That  this  cow  had  positively  not  been  exposed  to  the  Boyd 
trail,  or  any  other  infected  place  ;  that  she  had  beeu  kept  closely'  yarded, 
and  had  been  well  fed  on  dry  feed  for  the  ])ast  three  months,  I  prom- 
ised him  to  see  her  in  the  morning.  The  following  morning  1  drove  out 
5751  D  A 15 


226  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

to  his  place,  and  found  her  manifesting  the  following  train  of  symptons: 
Found  her  lying  on  the  sternum,  head  well  poised;  horns  warm;  nose 
dry  ;  a  dull  and  drowsy  appearance  of  tlie  eyes ;  sensible  to  the  flies ; 
pulse  depressed ;  respiration  22  ;  temperature  104°  F. ;  passage  of  ma- 
nure slightly  covered  with  mucus,  and  of  a  firmer  (;onsisteucy  than  it 
should  be.  I  learned  that  this  cow  had  been  turned  out  to  graze  with 
the  other  cattle  on  the  20th,  and  as  she  had  been  kei)t  up  on  drj^  feed 
for  the  past  three  mouths  I  concluded  that  she  had  overcharged  herself 
with  food  to  which  she  was  not  accustomed,  and  that  this  was  the  cause  | 
of  her  disability.  On  the  30th  she  would  neither  eat  nor  drink,  but  was 
disposed  to  lie  down  all  the  time.  When  I  saw  her  on  the  morning  of 
the  31st,  she  drank  half  a  pail  of  water,  and  ate  a  few  ears  of  corn; 
therefore  I  concluded  that  she  must  be  improving ;  that  she  was  better 
the  day  I  saw  her  than  on  the  day  previous.  On  the  3d  of  November 
I  again  saw  Hilliard,  in  Harper  ;  he  reported  that  the  cow  had  recovered 
her  health.  f 

From  Hilliard's  we  went  to  Matt.  Miller's,  5  miles  northwest  of  Har- * 
per.  He  stated  that  in  the  month  of  July  Hugh  McClung  brought  from 
north  of  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  65  head  of  cattle  ;  that  he  bought  35  head  of 
these  cattle  from  McClung,  and  placed  them  with  40  head  of  his  domes- 
tic cattle  on  the  same  range  ;  he  lost  0  head,  while  McClung,  who  held 
the  remaining  30  head  on  a  range  of  Mr.  Matthews,  lost  none.  His  cat- 
tle died  during  the  first  and  second  week  of  September,  after  a  sickness 
of  from  two  to  five  days.  Miller  sold  30  head  of  his  cattle  on  the  10th 
of  September. 

Messrs.  Got  and  Weaver,  of  Springfield,  Mo.,  brought  into  Harper  on  ^ 
the  24th  of  June,  200  head  of  cattle  from  Missouri.     They  drove  them 
out  3  miles  northwest,  and  had  them  herded  on  the  Matthews  range. 
About  the  20th  of  July  deaths  among  this  herd  began  to  occur,  and  they 
lost  24  head  of  their  cattle  in  rapid  succession. 

October  26,  we  left  Harper  for  Medicine  Lodge,  Barbour  County,  a 
distance  of  35  miles.  We  arrived  toward  evening.  I  saw  several  cat- 
tle-men in  town  ;  made  the  usual  inquiries,  and  was  told  that  many  cat- 
tle died  during  this  season  all  over  the  county  ;  but,  when  I  endeavored 
to  obtain  a  more  definite  account  as  to  who  the  suffering  parties  were, 
and  the  extent  of  their  losses,  I  could  get  but  little  reliable  information. 
I  concluded  to  remain  in  town  over  Saturday  the  27th,  and  endeavor 
to  get  a  more  definite  history  of  the  outbreak  in  this  part  of  the  county. 
In  the  evening  I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Ebersole,  who  lives  7  miles 
west  of  Medicine  Lodge.  He  told  me  that  on  a  range  next  to  him  10 
had  died  out  of  700  head  during  the  month  of  September,  but  that  he, 
himself,  had  not  lost  an.y  out  of  the  50  head  which  he  owned.  I  also 
met  Mr.  Springer,  who  lives  5  miles  southeast  of  Mediciuc  Lodge.  He 
lost  4  out  of  420  head  this  summer,  and  125  out  of  a  herd  of  500  last 
winter.  Mr.  Springer  ulso  stated  that  his  neighbor,  Mr.  Bulliugton,  lost 
12  out  of  100  head  this  season. 

I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTK^ATED    ANIMALS.        227 

On  October  27  I  weut  to  the  office  of  Mr.  T.  L.  O'Bryan,  a  live-stock 
broker.  He  told  me  that  some  emigrants  passed  through  the  town  of 
Medicine  Lodge,  going  north,  on  the  23d  or  the  2Gth  of  May.  They 
were  supposed  to  come  by  way  of  Anthony,  Harper  County,  and  were 
going  to  Colorado.  They  had  with  them  4  or  5  ox-teams,  with  from  one 
to  three  yoke  in  a  team,  and  50  head  of  loose  cattle.  They  told  Mr. 
Eiggs,  the  sherift'  of  Barbour  County,  that  they  came  from  Texas,  but 
told  i\Ir.  O'Bryan  that  they  were  from  the  Chickasaw  Nation,  near  Red 
Eiver.  Their  cattle  were  in  good  condition  and  had  the  appearance  of 
genuine  Texaus. 

In  Mr.  O'Bryan's  office  I  entered  into  conversation  with  Hon.  T.  J. 
Shepler,  who  told  me  that  in  the  year  1876,  when  the  through  trail  for 
Southern  cattle  to  Dodge  City  passed  along  the  eastern  banks  of  the 
Elm  River,  near  Medicine  Lodge,  2  head  of  domestic  cows  which  had 
been  kept  in  close  confinement  all  summer,  were  allowed  to  graze  over 
the  trail  late  in  the  fall  after  a  fall  of  3  inches  of  snow,  and  after  so 
late  an  exposure  both  cows  died.  He  also  told  me  that  a  prominent 
stockman  from  Montana  assured  him  last  spring  that  cattle  coming  from 
the  State  of  Kansas  would  transmit  to  their  cattle  the  Texas  fever  in 
the  most  malignant  and  fatal  form.  Mr.  Shepler  thinks  the  only  way 
to  obviate  the  annual  losses  among  cattle  in  Kansas  by  the  Southern 
fever,  is  to  establish  a  border  line  of  infection  and  compel  the  Southern 
cattle  to  be  slaughtered  within  the  limits  of  such  boundary  line. 

1  then  weut  to  see  j\Ir.  Frank  H.  Shelley,  secretary  of  the  Salt  Forks 
and  Eagle  Chief  pool.     He  said : 

A  iininber  of  through  cattle,  purchased  at  Caldwell,  were  located  ou  the  Eagle  Chief 
Creek  adjoining  iis  on  the  sontheast;  some  of  the  Salt  Forks  cattle  drifted  on  the  "T 
5"  range,  belonging  to  the  Texas  Land  and  Kansas  City  Company;  several  of  our  cat- 
tle died,  but  not  many  ;  two  of  them  were  high-grade  bulls.  I  don't  know  how  many 
of  our  cattle  were  exposed.     The  pool  holds  20,000  head  of  cattle. 

I  next  met  Mr.  J.  A.  McCarty,  in  the  office  of  the  Barbour  County 
Index.  He  is  the  captain  of  the  Sand  Creek  and  Hackberry  pool.  He 
stated  that  in  the  month  of  August,  Mr.  Lockhart,  a  member  of  the 
pool,  brought  from  Kingman  County  several  hundred  head  of  cattle  and 
placed  them  in  the  pool  herd.  Three  weeks  thereafter  the  pool  cattle 
began  to  die;  15  out  of  3,500  head  exposed  died  It  is  supposed  that 
several  head  of  Arkansas  cattle  were  among  the  Lockhart  lot.  Ten  per 
cent,  of  their  cattle  died  last  winter.  I  met  Mr.  William  Kelley  on  the 
street ;  he  lived  8  miles  south  of  Medicine  Lodge.  He  lost  10  out  of  400 
head  this  summer.  He  does  not  know  in  what  manner  they  were  ex- 
posed. Last  winter  he  lost  50  out  of  500  head;  they  generally  became 
lame  in  one  fore  leg;  persisted  in  lying  down  ;  would  continue  in  this 
way  from  one  week  to  a  month  before  they  died.  Many  of  them  were 
valuable  cows.  They  were  well  sheltered  and  well  fed  after  they  be- 
came sick,  but  the  majority  of  them  ultimately  died.  Several  died  after 
the  grazing  was  good  in  the  spring.  In  12  or  15  cases  that  recovered 
one  or  both  horns  came  ofl".  Mr.  Vaughn,  2^  miles  south  of  Medicine 
Lodge,  brought  00  head  of  cattle  from  Kingman  County  about  the  1st 


228  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

of  July.  During'  the  month  of  September  he  lost  3.  Last  winter  he 
lost  in  Kingman  County  42  head  out  of  his  herd  of  300.  The  best  cat- 
tle in  the  herd  appeared  to  be  the  most  susceptible.  His  cattle  were 
fed  on  corn  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter.  James  Wilson,  8  miles 
south  of  Medicine  Lodge,  stated  that  he  gathered  one  bull  at  the  county 
round-up  which  died. 

Two  other  animals  died  subsequently,  and  he  does  not  know  where 
these  were  exposed,  except  to  the  bull.  Lost  last  winter  6  per  cent. 
Mr.  Hamlin,  neighbor  to  Wilson,  lost  out  of  3  head  gathered  on  the  Boyd 
range,  one  bull.  Mr.  B.  D.  Keyes,  on  Elm  River,  18  miles  northwest 
of  Medicine  Lodge,  reported  a  loss  of  40  head  out  of  500  last  winter. 
He  fed  millet,  hay,  and  corn.  They  were  sick  from  two  days  to  two 
weeks.  Some  got  lame,  and  would  then  lie  down  nearly  all  the  time; 
most  of  them  ate  well  until  they  died.  One  cow  ate  two  quarts  of  soaked 
corn,  then  dropped  over  dead.  He  further  stated  that  this  trouble  was 
almost  universal  in  that  part  of  the  county.  After  skinning  the  dead 
cattle  he  found  intiltrations  of  bloody  water  under  the  shoulder  blade 
and  foreleg.  Mr.  B.  T.  Shields,  a  neighbor  to  Keyes,  lost  this  summer 
16  out  of  225  head. 

On  October  28th  we  left  Medicine  Lodge  and  drove  west  toward  Lake 
City ;  the  first  place  at  which  we  stO|>ped  was  Henry  Morehead's,  3 
miles  west  of  Medicine  Lodge.  He  told  me  that  he  had  144  head  of 
cattle  in  a  herd,  under  the  care  of  P.  B.  Cole,  on  Antelope  Flat,  north- 
west and  north  of  the  Illinois  colony.  Also,  that  his  neighbor,  Mr. 
Updegraf,  had  00  or  70  head  in  the  same  herd  ;  neither  of  them  had 
suffered  any  losses.  The  next  place  on  our  way  to  Lake  City  at  which 
we  stopped  was  Mr.  Sanderson's,  who  lives  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Medicine  River,  8  miles  west  of  Medicine  Lodge.  He  lost  3  head  of 
cattle  out  of  40  in  this  month.  Cause  of  death,  or  manner  of  infection, 
not  known.  He  told  me  that  Mr.  Robert  Ingram,  on  Cedar  Creek,  7 
miles  west  of  Medicine  Lodge,  lost  6  out  of  50  head  during  this  month. 
Manner  of  exposure  not  known.  We  then  proceeded  to  Lake  City, 
which  is  18  miles  northwest  of  Medicine  Lodge,  and  from  there  we 
drove  2  miles  north,  to  Mr.  W.  F.  Gordon's  ranch.  Mr.  Gordon  holds 
400  head  of  cattle  on  a  7,000-acre  fenced  range.  This  range  is  supplied 
with  water  from  several  clear-water  springs,  all  of  which  head  within 
the  inclosed  range.  Mr.  Gordon  lost  35  head  of  cattle.  The  first  one 
died  on  or  about  the  25th  of  September,  and  the  last  one  on  the  25th 
instant.  Ten  or  12  that  were  sick  recovered.  Mr.  Gordon  knows  of  no 
way  in  which  his  cattle  were  exposed,  only  that  once  or  twice  the  gate 
at  the  north  end  of  the  field  was  left  open  by  ])ers()ns  passing  through, 
and  a  few  of  his  cattle  got  out,  but  were  always  returned  within  a  few 
hours.  One  hundred  and  eighty-nine  head  of  these  cattle  were  bought 
from  Reuben  Lake,  of  Lake  City,  on  tlie  1st  of  July.  They  were  Ar- 
kansas cattle,  wintered  by  Mr.  Lake  in  a  fenced  field  adjoining  that  ot 
Mr;  Gordon.    The  balance  of  Gordon's  cattle,  212  head,  were  double 


•^ 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        229 

wintered  iu  bis  field.  As  T  was  anxious  to  make  a  post-mortem  examina- 
tion in  Older  to  discover  the  exact  nature  of  the  disease,  I  went  out  late 
in  the  evening-  to  see  the  condition  of  the  heifer  which  died  on  the  25th, 
three  days  ago.  She  was  badly  bloated.  I  opened  her  in  the  usual 
manner,  and  found  that  tlie  internal  viscera  were  undergoing  decompo- 
sition, and  were  scarcely  fit  to  handle.  I  removed  the  spleen,  which 
weighed  -4  pounds.  The  liver  was  enlarged.  A  bloody-colored  tluid 
was  contained  in  the  pericardial  sac ;  also  bloodj'-colored  urine  iu  the 
bladder.  The  fourth  stomach  presented  the  characteristic  erosions  and 
gastric  redness  of  southern  cattle  fever.  Mr.  Gordon  stated  that  in 
1858  he  lived  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  on  the  through  cattle  trail.  The 
trail  led  around  a  corner  of  his  pasture  field,  the  corner  not  being  quite 
square;  late  in  the  fall  he  built  the  fence  out  so  as  to  form  a  square 
corner;  by  so  doing  he  inclosed  a  part  of  the  trail.  The  cattle  which 
were  in  the  field  soon  began  to  die  after  the  moving  of  the  fence,  and 
continued  to  die  until  some  time  iu  the  month  of  January  ;  50  out  of 
100  head  died. 

AVe  remained  overnight  with  Mr.  Gordon,  and  next  morning  returned 
to  Medicine  Lodge.  As  we  passed  Mr.  Morehead's  place  his  wife  came 
out  to  the  road  and  told  me  that  her  husband  had  found  the  day  before 
a  sick  heifer  among  his  cattle  on  the  Cole  range  ;  that  he  had  started 
her  toward  home,  but  she  dropped  down  near  Elm  River,  and  was  un- 
able to  rise,  and  that  he  desired  me  to  see  the  animal.  I  was  directed 
where  to  find  it,  and  1  complied  with  their  wishes  ;  1  found  the  heifer 
dead.  I  saw  the  animal  at  2  o'clock  on  the  -J9th,  and  Mr.  iMorehead  had 
found  her  sick  at  about  the  same  time  the  day  previous.  She  appeared 
to  me  as  if  death  had  taken  place  in  the  night  or  early  morning ;  was 
badly  bloated  ;  a  few  small  balls  of  feces,  covered  with  dried  blood,  and 
mucus,  were  lying  behind  her.  The  mucous  membrane  of  the  rectum  ap- 
peared inflamed,  swollen,  and  protruded  several  inches  from  the  anus. 
I  opened  her  on  the  right  side,  following  the  usual  custom.  Decompo- 
sition had  taken  place  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  any  that  1  had 
ever  examined  after  so  short  a  period  after  death. 

The  blood-vessels  contained  more  blood,  and  of  abetter  quality  than 
is  usually  found  after  death  from  southern  cattle  fever.  The  animal 
was  excediiigly  fat,  and  the  fat  was  of  a  very  high  yellow  color,  very 
nearly  a  chrome  yellow.  All  of  the  internal  viscera  were,  more  or  less, 
distended  by  gasses.  The  pericardium  contained  10  or  12  ounces  of 
bloody-colored  serum.  In  the  arterial  side  of  the  heart  I  found  a  very 
extensive  and  strongly  organized  fibrinous  clot,  extending  through  the 
valves,  and  into  the  aorta  for  at  least  8  inches.  The  s[>leen  weighed 
3|  pounds,  and  blood  extravasations  were  found  under  the  peritoneal 
covering.  The  liver  was  enlarged,  and  filled  with  blood,  and  enormously 
distended  by  gasses.  Erosions  and  subacute  congestion  of  the  lining 
membraiu^  of  the  fourth  stomach  were  present.  The  urine  bladder  con- 
tained a  few  ounces  of  bloody-colored  urine.  The  kidneys  were  almost 
completely  disorganized  by  the  ravages  of  active  decomposition. 


230  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

At  Medicine  Lodge  I  saw  Mr.  Staudiford,  of  the  cattle  firm  of  Standi- 
ford,  Younians  &  Co.  Their  range  is  located  6  miles  southeast  of  Med- 
icine Lodge,  between  the  Medicine  River  and  Cedar  Hills.  He  made 
the  following  statement: 

Aljont  150  bead  of  cattle,  comiug  from  near  Wichita,  Sedgwick  County,  were 
driven  along  south  on  the  divide  between  Aiitelope  Flat  and  Elm  Creek,  and  were 
brought  to  and  camped  on  the  center  of  our  range  one  night.  As  near  as  I  remem- 
ber the  date  it  was  about  the  middle  of  June.  I  went  out  to  see  the  cattle;  they 
looked  very  suspicious.  Mr.  Shaustrom,  who  was  with  the  cattle,  told  me  that  the 
cattle  came  from  Arkansas;  that  he  bought  them  in  February,  and  shipped  them  into 
Wichita  about  the  1st  of  April;  that  they  were  kept  on  rough  feed,  and  afterward 
herded  on  the  Niuuescah  Kiver  until  they  were  started  South.  Several  well-bred 
bulls,  which  were  bought  at  Wichita,  were  among  the  herd,  but  a  large  proportion  o^ 
the  herd  looked  bad.  P"'rom  my  place  they  went  southwest  100  miles  to  the  Cimarron 
River,  and  were  placed  with  some  other  cattle  which  were  in  a  small  pool  formed  by 
Blackstone,  Tucker,  Mills,  Conner,  and  Shaustrom. 

About  one  week  after  Shaustrom's  cattle  left  my  place  Mr.  Tucker  (of  the  above, 
mentioned  pool)  came  to  my  place  and  told  me  that  the  Arkansas  cattle  which  Shau- 
strom took  d'lwu  were  dying  oft'  rapidly;  also,  that  some  of  the  other  cattle  in  the 
pool  were  dying.  On  the  range  where  these  cattle  camped  one  night  we  have  700 
head  ;  they  have  been  close  ranged  in  the  spring  and  summer,  but  several  of  them 
drifted  away;  afterward  3  were  gathered  on  the  Boyd  range  at  the  time  of  county 
round-up.  Two  weeks  after  the  Shaustrom  cattle  were  on  our  rauge  one  of  ours 
died;  soon  another  one;  the  second  one  was  gathered  on  the  Boyd  range.  Texan 
cows  which  had  been  double  wintered,  and  had  also  been  exj^osed  to  the  Boyd  cattle, 
remained  well.  One  bull  died  that  I  kept  up  and  stall-fed  all  winter,  which  I  know 
had  no  chance  for  exposure  to  the  Boyd  cattle,  nor  did  he  stray  away  from  our  herd. 
He  died  in  the  first  week  of  October.  Another  bull  which  had  been  kept  exactly  like' 
the  first  one  died  on  the  25th.  One  cow  that  I  kept  in  town  until  the  last  of  June 
and  theu  took  her  to  the  herd,  where  she  was  kept  within  sight  every  day,  also  died. 
Altogether  we  lost  ten  of  the  very  choicest  cattle  in  the  herd.  Last  winter  we  lost 
10  per  cent,  of  our  domestic  cattle,  and  6  per  cent  of  the  Texan  cattle. 

I  met  Mr.  A.  L.  Duncan,  of  Medicine  Lodge,  who  told  me  that  three 
different  herds  of  cattle  passed  tlirough  their  place  in  the  latter  part  of 
May  and  early  June.  One  of  the  outfits  told  him  they  were  from  Eed 
River,  Cliickasaw  Xation,  and  said  they  were  going  into  Colorado.  The 
second  outfit  were  going  to  Montana,  and  the  third  into  Utah.  The  three 
herds  numbered  about  500  head  of  cattle,  and  looked  like  Indian  or 
Northern  Texans.  From  Medicine  Lodge  they  passed  in  a  westerlj^ 
direction  toward  Fort  Dodge. 

While  at  Medicine  Lodge  I  met  Mr.  P.  B.  Cole.  He  lives  2  miles 
west  from  Dr.  Wisner  and  north  of  T.  B.  Stockstill-  He  owned  250 
head  of  cattle,  and  held  150  belonging  to  other  parties.  These  cattle 
were  nearly  all  gathered  in  the  county  round-up  on  Antelope  Flat, 
between  the  1st  and  15th  of  July,  where  they  had  been  with  several 
hundred  other  cattle.  In  this  round-up  25  or  30  stray  cattle  were 
found  for  which  no  owners  appeared.  The  Anderson  herd  of  cattle 
grazed  on  the  Cole  range  for  several  days  in  the  latter  part  of  June. 
Mr.  Cole  lost  out  of  his  herd  of  400  25  head — 2  in  July  and  23  in  Sep- 
tcnd)er.  William  Dark,  north  of  Cole's,  lost  16  out  of  35(>  head  of  cat- 
tle daring  the  month  of  September. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        231 

The  first  place  at  which  we  stopped,  after  leaving-  Mediciue  Lodge, 
on  October  30,  was  the  Hiilitt,  or  open  A  range,  on  Camp  Creek,  Har- 
per County.  Hulitt  Brothers  brought  250  head  of  good  high-grade  cat- 
tle on  the  range  from  Iowa  a  year  ago,  which  have  remained  on  the 
same  range  up  to  this  time.  Mr.  Miller,  of  Washington  County,  Iowa, 
unloaded  at  Harper,  on  the  9th  of  April,  220  head  of  Iowa  cattle,  kept 
them  on  the  range  north  of  the  stock-yards  and  in  the  yards  at  night 
for  three  successive  days,  then  drove  them  out  on  the  range  occupied 
by  Hulitt  Brothers,  and  placed  them  under  their  care.  Mr.  Ament,  of 
Anthony,  Harper  County,  shipped  from  Coffeyville,  Mo.,  and  unloaded 
at  Harper  300  head  of  cattle ;  they  arrived  at  Harper  on  the  28th  of 
June.  He  then  drove  them  southeast  into  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county  on  a  school  section,  and  herded  them  there  until  the  10th  of 
July.  They  were  then  taken  west  and  placed  on  the  Hulitt  Brothers 
range,  arriving  on  the  12th.  One  of  these  cattle  died  on  the  same  day 
that  it  arrived  upon  the  range,  and  others  of  the  Ament  cattle  died 
daily  thereafter,  until  the  number  of  deaths  reached  47.  i^^one  of  the 
Miller  nor  of  the  Hulitt  Brothers  cattle  died. 

The  last  death  among  the  Ament  cattle  occurred  on  the  1st  of  Octo- 
ber. This  was  a  black  bull,  bought  in  Kansas  for  $540.  Forty  head 
which  had  been  sick  recovered.  The  sick  were  treated  by  giving  one 
quart  of  raw  linseed  oil  at  a  dose,  and  by  using  the  same  by  injection 
into  the  rectum.  Some  recovered  after  passing  bloody  urine.  The 
Boyd  herd  of  cattle  ranged  over  this  ground  in  the  early  part  of  the 
summer,  and  3  head  of  them  were  with  the  Hulitt  Brothers  cattle  later 
in  the  season,  1  remaining  six  weeks. 

The  Miller  cattle,  which  were  unloaded  at  Harper  on  the  9th  of  April, 
were  with  20  head  of  the  crippled  Boyd  cattle  in  the  yards  and  on  the 
range  north  of  the  yards,  and  ate  corn,  cane,  and  millet-hay  from  the 
same  piles.  The  description  of  the  post  mortem  appearances  in  the 
Ament  cattle,  as  given  me  by  Mr.  Hulitt,  convinces  me  that  they  died 
with  the  southern  cattle  fever. 

We  next  stopped  at  Attica  post-oftice,  Harper  County.  There  I  saw 
Mr.  G.  W.  Markham,  who  stated  : 

One  of  my  two-jear-old  steers  got  among  the  Boyd  herd  as  tbey  were  passing  along 
north  of  my  range  on  "the  10th  of  April.  I  followed  him  and  brought  him  hack  home 
the  same  evening.  Two  days  thereafter  I  sold  him  to  H.  D.  Drumiu,  of  Kiowa,  who 
has  since  told  me  that  th''  steer  died. 

Mr.  Drumm  had  2  head  of  the  Boyd  cattle  among  his  herd  from  the 
latter  part  of  April  until  the  1st  of  July,  but  did  not  lose  any  of  his  cattle 
except  the  one  bouglit  from  Mr.  Markham.  At  Attica  I  was  told  that  a 
yoke  of  oxen  luul  been  staked  on  the  Boyd  trail,  south  of  Gardner's; 
they  were  used  for  breaking  sod,  and  remained  there  all  summer.  N"o 
sickness  followed  the  exposure,  in  the  evening  I  met  Mr.  J.  C.  Fox,  of 
Seymour,  Iowa,  at  the  Glenn  House,  Harper.  He  told  me  that  he 
brought  four  carloads  of  cattle  into  Harper  on  the  12th  of  April.     He 


232  CO>JTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

held  bis  cattle  in  the  .yards  at  night  and  on  the  range  north  four  or  five 
days,  1  of  the  Boyd  cattle  being  with  them  all  this  time.  These  cattle 
were  taken  northwest  18  miles,  on  a  range,  and  remained  there  until  the 
20th  of  August.  No  loss  or  sickness  appeared  in  this  herd.  Mr.  Hard- 
wick,  of  the  Glenn  House,  told  me  tluit  he  had  a  sick  cow,  also  that  he 
lost  one  several  days  ago.  I  promised  to  go  out  in  the  morning  to  see 
her. 

On  the  31st  I  drove  out  2  miles  west  to  Mr.  Forrey's  inclosed  pasture 
field  to  see  the  Hardwick  cow.  I  found  the  cow  in  the  following  condi- 
tion at  0.30  a.m.:  Temperature  100°;  lying  on  the  left  side  with  head 
thrown  somewhat  to  the  right ;  was  apparently  suffering  great  pain,  as 
was  manifested  by  her  deep  and  agonizing  groans ;  eyes  prominent ;  left 
horn  much  colder  than  the  right ;  nose  dry  ;  skin  a  deep  yellow  color ; 
pulse  80 ;  respiration  20  ;  painful  and  prolonged  expirations ;  could  feel 
through  the  abdominal  walls  posterior  tc  the  ribs  decided  enlargement 
of  the  liver ;  auscultation  and  percussion  revealed  no  lung  trouble ; 
thick  viscid  saliva  stringing  from  the  mouth — not  profuse.  At  10.15  the 
temperature  was  97.5°.  At  10.30  I  introduced  the  instrument  into  the 
bladder,  where  it  registered  97.4°.  I  cut  a  deep  gash  into  the  tail,  1  inch 
in  length,  about  4inches  below  the  root,  in  order  to  observe  the  flow  and  I 
the  color  of  the  blood,  but  only  a  few  drops  oozed  from  the  incision  ;  it 
was  very  thin  and  watery.  I  cut  another  gash  into  the  fleshy  part  of  the 
thigh,  but  only  a  slight  trickling  of  blood  followed.  In  making  these  in- 
cisions the  animal  evinced  no  pain.  At  11  o'clock  she  made  an  effort  to 
get  up,  butfailed.  A  sweat  nowjbroke  out  on  the  nose;  pulse  very  tense, 
yet  weak.  As  I  stood  by  her  side  I  could  hear  distinctly  each  heart 
beat.  It  appeared  as  if  nature  was  concentrating  all  the  strength  that 
was  within  the  animal  to  maintain  the  heart's  action.  She  is  now  rest- 
ing on  the  sternum,  with  head  extended,  the  lower  jaw  resting  on  the 
ground,  and  groans  at  each  expiration  of  breath,  to  which  it  is  painful 
to  listen.  Tremors  of  the  vasti  muscles,  and  also  of  the  muscles  of  the 
neck,  now  appeared.  At  11.15  temperature  98°.  I  then  left  her;  re- 
turned again  at  2  p.  m.,  and  found  her  dead.  The  surface  of  the  body 
was  yet  warm,  and  out  of  curiosity  I  inserted  the  thermometer  into  the 
rectum,  when  it  registered  103.5°  F.  An  hour  later  I  returned  prepared 
to  make  a  post  mortem  examination.  There  were  present  at  the  exami- 
nation Messrs.  Ewell,  Cochran,  and  Ross,  of  Harper. 

The  animal  was  lying  on  the  left  side,  and  a  quart  or  more  of  a 
greenish  watery  fluid  had  escaped  from  the  mouth  and  nose.  After 
exposing  the  internal  organs  to  view  I  found  the  lungs  slightly  emphy- 
sematous and  a  frothy  si)uta  in  the  capillary  tubes ;  pericardium  con- 
tained about  ()  or  8  ounces  of  dark,  bloody-colored  fluid  ;  external  surface 
of  heart  extensively  ecchymosed;  in  fact,  looked  limp,  bruised,  and  worn.|H 
out  by  sheer  exhaustion;  the  internal  surface  of  the  heart  was  almost ^^ 
black,  caused  by  capillary  congestion  and  extravasation  of  blood  into 
the  endocardium  ;  no  blood  clots  in  the  heart.  The  heart  weighed  5 
pounds.     The  spleen  weighed  4  pounds,  and  presented  a  disintegration 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        233 

of  the  giandular  structure ;  the  external  surface  preseuted  uumerous 
ecchvmosert  si)0is,  and  a  purple  and  gray-mottled  appearance.  The 
liver  weighed  15  pounds,  and  possessed  a  spongy  feel  to  the  touch  ; 
was  darker  in  color  than  normal,  and  manifested  fatty  degeneration. 
The  gall  bladder  contained  30  ounces  of  thick,  granular  appearing  bile, 
of  a  greenish-brown  color.  The  third  stomach  presented  nothing  abnor- 
mal, but  the  fourth  presented  the  characteristic  redness  and  erosions, 
exposing  the  vascular  membrane,  indicative  of  southern  cattle  fever. 
Surrounding  the  kidneys  was  discovered  a  yellowish  gelatinous  infiltra- 
tion. The  kidneys  were  darker  than  normal,  and  contained  bloody- 
colored  urine  in  the  ducts  and  tubuli.  The  uterns  contained  a  six- 
weeks'  old  fetus ;  this  organ  presented  no  marked  lesions.  The  urine 
bladder  was  disteiuled  with  2  gallons  of  a  dark,  almost  brown,  colored 
urine;  specific  gravity  1.012.  The  blood  in  the  blood  vessels  was  not 
so  thin  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  but  was  deficient  in  quantity.  Mr. 
Hard  wick  bought  these  two  cows,  together  with  48  other  cattle,  on  or 
about  the  l''th  instant,  from  Mr.  Bailey,  who  lives  2  or  3  miles  north- 
west of  town.  The  48  head  were  taken  down  into  the  Indian  Territory 
on  the  16th — the  same  day  the  two  cows  were  placed  into  the  Forrey 
field.  All  of  these  cattle  crossed  several  cattle  trails  before  they  reached 
the  Forrey  pasture.  This  day  I  saw  Mr.  L.  C.  Bidwell,  of  Anthony. 
He  owns  2,000  head  of  cattle,  which  are  pastured  in  an  inclosed  field 
containing  12,000  acres,  located  in  the  Indian  Territory,  along  the 
south  line  of  Harper  County. 

He  stated  that  cattle  had  been  dying  all  around  his  pasture,  but  that 
he  did  not  lose  a  single  one.  Mr.  J.  W.  Walcott,  of  Harper,  kept  11 
cows  from  which  he  supplied  milk  to  the  citizens  of  Harper.  He  herded 
them  north  of  the  railroad  track.  The  first  loss  occurred  on  the  4th 
day  of  July,  after  six  days'  sickness  5  10  head  died  before  the  1st  of 
August.  The  remaining  one  was  sick  three  or  four  days,  then  began 
to  improve,  and  in  a  week  was  again  apparently  well.  Mr.  R.  J.  Jones 
picketed  his  cow  north  of  the  railroad  track  for  the  space  of  a  week  in 
the  early  part  of  July  ;  no  sickness  followed.  He  has  owned  the  cow 
for  four  years.  John  Elrod,  of  Harper,  owned  8  head  of  work  oxen,  all 
of  them  wintered  cattle.  One  of  them  was  a  Texan,  eight  or  ten  years 
old,  and  had  been  owned  in  the  county  several  years.  These  cattle 
were  pastured  north  of  the  railroad  at  Harper  for  a  month  before  any 
disease  appeared  among  any  of  the  cattle  in  or  around  Harper.  In  the 
month  of  October  4  out  of  the  8  oxen  died,  the  old  Texan  being  the  last 
one  to  succumb  to  the  disease. 

On  Xovember  1  we  drove  to  Anthony,  9  miles  south  of  Har[)er,  prin- 
cipally for  the  purpose  of  seeing  Mr.  Anient,  who  sutfered  such  a  heavy 
loss  on  the  Hulitt  range  ;  but  we  failed  to  find  him  at  home.  Here  I 
made  inquiries  relating  to  disease  among  cattle,  and  was  told  no  cattle 
in  that  immediate  locality  died  this  year.  ]\Ir.  Northup,  a  prominent 
cattle  man  of  Anthony,  told  me  that  nearly  all  the  domestic  cows  along 


234         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  trail  of  the  Andersou  cattle  died.  The  Auderaou  cattle  passed  6 
miles  west  of  Authouy  ou  their  way  south  to  the  Territory  line.  He 
also  told  me  that  Mr.  Singer,  10  miles  east  of  Anthony,  lost  a  large  per- 
centage of  his  cattle  last  winter ;  they  are  said  to  have  been  in  good 
condition  and  were  well  fed.  They  had  been  brought  from  Iowa  and 
Northern  Missouri  in  the  fall.  After  returning  to  Harper  I  traced  up 
the  town  cows  that  died  in  Harper  as  follows : 


Owners. 

Num- 
ber of 
cows 
lost. 

Value. 

I 
? 

! 

1 
2 

! 

1 
1 
1 

18 

$70 
40 

C.  Arthur 

75 

40 

35 

P.  P.  Thomas 

36 

E.  Keefer 

35 

35 

80 

90 

40 

J.Burd' 

35 

Mr  f'ypliBrH 

38 

S.  Keever 

46 

Total 

695 

All  of  these  cows  grazed  north  of  the  railroad  track.  The  town  cows 
which  were  not  allowed  to  graze  north  of  the  track  escaped  the  dis- 
ease. 

HISTORY   OF   THE   ANDERSON   CATTLE. 

Six  car-loads  of  cattle  shipjied  from  Springfield,  Mo.,  in  the  name  of 
the  Bank  of  Springfield,  and  consigned  to  Mr.  Anderson,  were  unloaded 
at  Harper  on  the  6th  day  of  June.  These  cattle  remained  at  the 
stock-yards  about  ten  days,  ranging  northeast  of  the  yards  during  the 
day.  They  were  then  taken  out  west  about  4  miles,  southwest  until  thej^ 
reached  the  Medicine  Lodge  road,  followed  this  road  into  Barbour 
County,  through  the  Illinois  colony,  and  rested  upon  the  range  of  P.  B. 
Cole  a  week  or  more.  They  then  were  driven  back  again  by  way  of  Inyo 
post  office,  thence  by  Joppa  post  office,  passing  over  W.  E.  Kline's 
range  5  miles  west  of  Attica  post-office,  then  in  a  southeasterly  direc- 
tion toward  Anthony,  but  leaving  Anthony  6  miles  to  the  east,  then 
south  to  the  line  of  the  Indian  Territory,  then  east  along  the  line  to 
Gilmore's  range,  G  miles  west  of  Caldwell,  in  the  Indian  Territory.  Sev- 
enty-eight head  of  these  cattle  were  sold  before  they  left  Harper  to  a 
Mr.  Smalley,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  Kingman  County,  and  were 
driven  by  him  in  a  direct  course  northwest  from  Harper  to  Kingman 
County,  Mr.  Anderson  stated  that  these  were  Arkansas  cattle.  Mr. 
Cochran  stated  that  he  bought  conditionally  100  head  of  cattle  in  White 
County,  Arkansas,  last  winter,  but  that  Mr.  Anderson  afterward  saw 
the  same  lot  of  cattle,  and  by  offering  more  for  them  closed  a  bargain, 
and  drove  them  to  Springfield,  Mo. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        235 

On  November  2,  we  drove  out  to  see  Mr.  Potter,  but  he  not  being-  at 
home  his  son  gave  me  the  following-  information:  They  held  cattle  12 
miles  northwest  of  Harper  ;  they  bought  131  head  of  cattle  out  of  the 
McMullen  herd  on  the  Botkin  range ;  afterward  added  106  head  of  do- 
mestic cattle  brought  from  the  line  of  Kingman  County.  Two  native 
milch  cows  were  also  turned  in  with  this  herd.  Out  of  the  first  herd 
(131)  32  died;  out  of  the  106  head  26  died.  All  of  these,  excepting  4 
head,  died  previous  to  the  10th  of  August — the  4  died  in  September, 
and  10  that  were  taken  sick  in  September  recovered.  The  first  lot  of 
cattle  were  bought  on  the  1st  of  July,  and  were  taken  on  the  range  on 
the  8th  ;  the  second  lot  were  bought  a  few  days  later.  The  Mc^NIulleu 
cattle  began  to  die  on  the  8th  of  July.  Mr.  Potter  knows  of  no  other 
cattle  dying  near  their  range. 

Clotfelter  and  Thomas  have  a  fenced  pasture,  6  miles  square,  in  King- 
man and  Harper  Counties.  This  field  contained  cattle  belonging  to 
Clotfelter  and  Thomas,  300  head  ;  Aaron  Canalt,  160  head  ;  Mr.  Blake, 
300  head;  Harroldson  and  Sheldon,  700  head.  All  of  these  cattle,  ex- 
cept 640  head  of  Harroklson  and  Sheldon's,  were  wintered  in  this  field, 
and  during  the  winter  150  head  died,  the  loss  being  attributed  to  insuf- 
ficient food  and  water,  and  want  of  shelter.  Harroldson  and  Sheldon 
placed  into  this  field,  in  the  month  of  June,  700  head  of  cattle,  said  to 
have  been  brought  from  Missouri;  Muuger  Brothers  put  in  400  head 
after  the  disease  broke  out,  and  allowed  them  to  remain  until  the  1st  of 
October.  In  the  month  of  July  disease  appeared  among  cattle  in  this 
field,  and  Harroldson  and  Sheldon  lost  30  head.  They  removed  their 
cattle  early  in  September.  The  loss  among  Blake's  cattle  I  could  not 
ascertain.  Clotfelter  and  Thomas  lost  3  head ;  Muuger  Brothers,  16. 
Ko  other  cattle  adjoining  this  field  died,  except  a  few  in  Flint  &  Hamil- 
ton's field,  located  in  the  corner  of  Kingman,  Pratt,  and  Barbour  Coun- 
ties. 

William  Nance,  15  miles  northwest  of  Harj)er,  bought  '?  steers  out  of 
the  Boyd  herd  in  the  spring,  took  them  home,  and  picketed  them  near 
his  house.  After  the  steers  were  removed  a  cow  was  picketed  on  the 
same  ground ;  in  about  two  weeks  she  became  sick  and  died.  Soon 
afterward  Mr.  Nance  bought  two  cows,  picketed  them  on  the  same 
place;  both  of  them  became  sick,  and  one  died.  The  steers  remained 
well.  This  completes  my  investigation  of  cattle  disease  in  the  counties 
of  Harper  and  Barbour. 

List  of  herds  of  cattle  suspected  of  conveying  the  disease. — No.  1,  the 
Boyd  cattle,  arrived  at  Harper  April  6 ;  No.  2,  the  Anderson  cattle, 
arrived  at  Harper  June  6 ;  No.  3,  the  Scoby  cattle,  arrived  at  Harper 
June  6 ;  No.  4,  the  McClung  cattle,  arrived  at  Harper  July ;  No.  5, 
Arkansas  cattle,  which  crossed  McGee's  range  in  June;  No.  6,  three 
emigrant  herds  through  Medicine  Lodge  June  1 ;  No.  7,  Shanstrom  cat- 
tle, June  1;  No.  8,  Garrison  cattle,  arrived  at  Harper  June  18;  No.  9, 


236 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


county  rouud-up,  in  Bai^boiir,  July  1  to  15;  No.  JO,  Territory  round-up, 
in  Barbour  County,  June  and  July  ;  No.  11,  emigrants  which  passed  by 
Pratt's  in  June;  No.  lli,  the  Wisner  oxen,  including  the  Downing  yol-e, 
arrived  at  Harper  in  February  ;  No.  13,  Martin  cattle,  from  Mr.  Potter, 
October  6. 

It  may  be  said  that  all  of  these  herds  rest  under  greater  or  less  sus- 
picion ;  but,  owing  to  the  limite*!  time  allotted  to  me  for  my  investiga- 
tions, I  have  not  been  able  to  establish  the  fact  that  any  of  them  were 
capable  of  communicating  disease  to  other  cattle,  directly  or  indirectly. 

The  following  summary  may  be  readily  understood  : 


Owner. 


Exposed  to 

herds 

number— 


<B 

3  «  o 

Soft 

1 

i 

3 

75 

28 

7 

7 

13 

5 

680 

16 

200 

29 

331 

90 

150 

30 

250 

156 

116 

10 

80 

5 

700 

5 

200 

15 

HO 

4 

3,500 

7 

500 

10 

500 

16 

300 

53 

255 

136 

300 

77 

60 

9 

600 

185 

10 

a 

20 

2 

150 

5 

123 

48 

60 

6 

108 

30 

125 

7 

17 

1 

27 

3 

120 

30 

300 

3 

40 

4 

3 

1 

15 

7 

4 

2 

6 

6 

10 

10 

18 

14 

18 

10 

100 

36 

56 

44 

100 

18 

200 

10 

27 

1 

70 

60 

14 

9 

900 

29 

562 

184 

2 

1 

510 

10 

475 

450 

Date  of  out- 
break. 


Value.  I    County. 


Dr.  Joseph  Brookway. 


E.  Walden  

William  A.  Wood. 

Jesse  Boyd 

R.  B.  McGee 

W.  W.Cook 


A.  B.  Ranalls... 

John  Elmore 

R.  J.  Evans 

Mr.  Parsons  . . . . 
Hink.  Moore. .-. 
Thomas  Brakey. 
C.  Blackstone  .. 
W.  E.  CampbeU. 
Tryor&  Miller.. 


Mr.  Latham . . . 

H.  Hale 

John  Peters  . . 
David  Gloiigh. 


E.  C.  Davis 

William  Garrison. 

Mr.  White 

Mr.  Pi'lton . . 

T.  B.  Stookstill... 
M.  B.  Moore 


M.  McGuire 

B.  F.  Kemp 

w  .  E.  Mattox  . 
James  Roberts. 
Mr.  Reeder 

W.  H.  Wisner  . 


J.  H.  Warren 

Mr.  Gardner 

L.  M.  Pratt    

r.  P.  Melviii 

C.  P.  Bradford  .... 
Louis  llildebrant  . 

S.  H.  Coyer. 

S.  M.  Shafer 

E.  Viaa    

A.  T.  Woodward  .. 

John  Challia 

Mr.  Snoby 

W.  A.  Creighton  . . 

T.  Goss 

Mr.  Donaluio     

Flint  &  llamiltim. 


R.  Botkin's  herd  . .. 

Mr.  Campbell 

Mun;ier  lirothers  . . 
n.  F.Burr 


1,11 

1,2 
1,2 
8,9,  10,12 
5,  9, 10 
1,  5,  7,  9, 11, 12 

1,  5,  7,  9, 11, 12 
1,  5,  9, 10, 11 


5,  6,  9, 10 
5,  6,  9, 10 
5,  6,  9, 10 


Fenced. 
...do  .. 


do. 
1,  5  6,  9, 10 
1,  9, 10, 11 
1,  8,  9,  12 

1,  2, 8,  9, 12 
1,  2,  8,  9, 12 
1,  2,  8,  0, 12 
1,  2,  8,  9, 12 
2,  8, 12 
1,  2,  8,  9, 12 

1.  2,  8,  9,  12 

1,  .5,  6,  11,  12 

1,  9,  10 

1,2,8,12 

1,9,10 

1,  2, 11, 12, 13 

7,  8, 12 

1,  2,  8,  12 

1,2,11 

1,11 

1,2,11,13 


13 

1,2,11 

1,2,11 

1,11,13 

3 

3 

1,2,4,8,12,13 

1,11 


1.2,11 

2,  5,  11 

1,  2,  5 

1,  2, 13, 12 


23 

7 

1 

16 

21 

75 

30 

156 

6 

5 

5 

15 
2 

7 
10 

16 
33 
96 
67 


184 

1 

10 

179 


15 


20 
40 
10 

3 

100 


July  10,  Sept. 

12. 

Sept 

Oct.  12 

July  10,  Sept. 

Sept.  15 

July  9,  Aug. 

29. 

Sept 

July  1,  Sep  t.l, 

Oct.3 

Aug.,  Oct.20. 


Sept.  15. 
Oct.    12. 


Sept,  10. 


271 


Sept.  15 

July,  Sept.  1. 
July  4,  Sept. 

I'to  10. 

July    1 

July,  Sept. 10. 

Sopt 

Julv,  Sept  .. 

Oct.      6 

July  11, Sept. 

15. 


Aug 

July 

Oct.  6.  ... 

July 

Sept 

Oct 

Sept 


July  4 

Oct.  8 

Oct 

Aug.  20.... 
July,  Sept . 
July,  Sept . 

Sept 

Sept.  1 

Sept.l 


July  . 


Sept 
Sept. 


July  2 

July 

May  or  J  uno 
Sept 


$575 

275 

30 

320 

630 

2,000 

900 
4,680 
300 
200 
150 
600 
80 
210 
300 

480 

990 

2,280 

2,450 

236 

2,250 

120 

70 

90 

2,000 

240 

480 

245 

20 

100 

600 

500 

160 

40 

340 

84 

205 

120 

560 

300 

1,260 

1,270 

400 

250 

200 

1,800 

70 

950 


5,520 

50 

750 

3,495 


Harper. 

Do. 
Do. 
Barbour. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 


Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Indian  Ter- 
ritory . 
Barbour. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Harper. 
Barbour. 

Do. 

Do. 
Hai'per. 

Do. 
Harper. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Linn. 
Sumner. 
Kingman, 
Pratt  and 
Barbour. 
Harper. 

Do. 
Barbour. 
Harper. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


237 


Owner. 

Exposed   to 

herds 
number — 

111 

a 
3 

Number  o  f 
deaths. 

.=  > 

3  ffl 

Date  of  ont- 
ureak. 

Value. 

County. 

A.Hilliard 

1,2 

4 

1,  2,  3,  8, 12 

5 

75 

200 

700 

420 

60 

100 

20,  000 

3,500 

400 

550 

3 

225 

40 

50 

400 

141 

700 

400 

350 

300 

1 

48 

11 

8 

18 

239 

1,560 

3 

2 

9 

24 

10 

4 
3 
12 

10 

3 

1 

16 

3 

6 

47 

1 

10 

25 

16 

87 

1 

2 

11 

4 

18 

68 

49 

2 

2 
9 

24 

10 

4 

3 

12 

several 

15 

10 

3 

1 

16 

3 

6 

35 

1 

10 

25 

16 

47 

1 

2 

10 

4 

18 

58 

49 

2 

July,  Sept . . 

Sept 

July  20 

Sept 

$80 
200 
600 
300 
125 
75 
400 

Harper. 
Do 

Matt  Miller    

Got  &  Weaver 

Do. 

Do. 

6,7 

Sept 

Do 

Do. 

Salt  Forke-s  and  Eagle- 

(*) 

i:::::::::::::; 

Do. 

chief  pool. 

500 

300 
150 
160 
500 
120 
210 

1.  555 

30 

520 

1,000 
480 

2,081 

30 

80 

500 

200 

695 

1,160 

1,470 

80 
$53,  756 

Do. 

berrv  pool. 

William  Kelley 

James  Wilson  

5,6,7 

6,7,9 

1,  6,  9, 12 

Sept 

Do. 
Do. 

Do. 

B.F.  Shields 

Do. 

"'12' 

"46" 

Oct 

Oct 

Do. 

Robert  Iniiram   

Do. 

Sept.  25 

Oct.  29 

July,  Oct.  .. 
July,  Sept  . . 

Sept 

July  12 

Do. 

2,  8, 12,  9 

1,  5,  6,  7,  9 

1,2,7,8,9.12 

1,  2,  7,  8,  9, 12 

1,  2,  3,  8 

Do 

Standiford  &  Co 

P.  B.  Colo 

Do. 
Do. 

William  Dark 

Mr.  Ament , 

Do. 

' '  Markham  steer  " 

Do. 

(t) 

C) 

'""i' 
""'io' 

1 

Oct.    26 

July  4  

Oct 

July  4 

July  8 

July 

July 

Do. 

J.  W.  Walcott 

Do. 

John  Elrod 

Do. 

Town  cows,  Harper    . 

Do. 

Potter  &  Son    

1,2,3,8,12 

Do. 

Clotfelter  &  Thomas  . . . 

"William  !N'ance 

and  Har- 
per. 
Harper. 

Total 

19,  229 

2,272 

1,768 

604, 

*  Supposed  Arkansas  cattle, 
t  All  of  the  trails  at  the  west  edge  of  Harper. 
I  All  north  of  the  railroad  at  Harper. 

It  will  be  safe  to  say  that  2,000  head  of  cattle  died  this  year,  in  Harper  and  Barbour  Counties,  with 
the  southern  cattle  fever,  and  that  the  direct  and  indirect  loss  will  not  fall  short  of  $75,400. 


GLANDERS  AMONG  HORSES. 


Before  leaving  Harper,  I  went  northeast  11  miles  to  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Alexander  Cheesman,  to  investigate  the  nature  of  a  disease  among 
horses,  supposed  to  be  glanders.  After  arriving  at  the  place,  Mr.  Chees- 
man led  the  affected  horses  out  of  the  stable.  The  first  one  I  examined 
■was  a  ten-year-old  horse  belonging  to  Joseph  Cheesman.  This  horse  had 
a  discharge  from  both  nostrils,  of  a  greenish-yellow  color  ;  considerable 
tumefaction  across  the  external  surface  of  the  nasal  bones;  dullness 
ni)on  percussion  was  manifest  over  the  maxillary  sinuses ;  numerous 
ulcers  of  various  sizes  were  visible  upon  the  nasal  se|)tum,  chancre-like, 
and  of  a  dirty  yellowish  color,  with  elevated  serrated  borders;  milliary 
tubercles  appeared  in  clusters  on  the  schneiderian  membrane,  extend- 
ing as  far  up  in  the  nasal  cavity  as  I  could  see.  Both  the  submaxill- 
ary lymphatic  glands  were  enlarged,  hard,  and  nodular  to  the  sense  of 
touch,  but  not  strongly  adherent  to  adjacent  stru(5tures.  An  abscess 
was  in  process  of  formation  on  the  lower  surface  of  the  chest,  one  on  the 
inside  of  the  right  hind  leg,  another  one  on  the  molar  bone,  and  one  on 


238  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTKUTED    ANIMALS. 

the  left  temporal  bone — veritable  farcy  buds.  On  percussion,  dullness 
was  manifest  over  the  inferior  lobe  of  the  left  lung;  respiration  was 
accelerated.  There  was  also  a  discharge  of  tl)ick;  viscid  matter  from 
the  left  eye,  and  swelling  and  partial  protrusion  of  the  membrane  nic- 
titaus.  1  was  told  that  this  horse  had  been  coughing,  more  or  less,  for 
a  year. 

The  next  one  which  was  led  out  for  examination  was  a  six-year-old 
bay  mare,  also  belonging  to  Joseph  Cheesman.  She  had  a  discharge 
from  the  right  nostril,  wiiich  was  of  a  very  gluey  character,  adhering 
around  the  margin  of  the  nares,  numerous  small  characteristic  glan- 
ders ulcers  on  the  septum  nasi,  and  enlargement  of  the  submaxillary 
lymphatic  glands  on  tlie  corresponding  side.  Both  hind  legs  were 
edematous  and  presented  swelliug  and  tumors  along  the  lymphatics,  ex- 
tending from  the  hock  upwards  to  the  inguinal  region ;  the  inguinal 
glands  also  were  enlarged,  hard,  and  sensitive  to  touch. 

The  third  animal  examined  was  a  gray  horse,  fifteen  years  of  age,  be- 
longing to  Alexander  Cheesman.  He  had  a  discharge  from  the  left 
nostril ;  a  hard  swelling — the  size  of  a  walnut — of  the  left  submaxillary 
lymphatics;  a  few  small  circumscribed  tumors  distributed  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  body — farcy  buds.  This  horse  presented  no  visible  nasal 
ulcerations.  I  examined  two  other  horses,  which  have  been  in  the  same 
stable  with  the  affected  ones,  but  could  discover  no  evidence  of  disease 
in  either  of  them.  Mr.  A.  Cheesman  told  me  that  a  four-year-old  mule 
died  in  the  same  stable  in  the  month  of  March,  and  that  she  presented 
symptoms  similar  to  the  first  horse  that  I  examined.  I  pronounced  the 
three  horses  to  be  affected  with  glanders  and  urged  the  owners  to  have 
them  destroyed  ;  but  they  did  not  promise  to  follow  my  advice,  unless 
they  could  get  some  recompense  from  the  county  or  State.  On  the  10th 
of  November  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Hon.  G.  W.  Click,  governor  of  the 
State  of  Kansas,  stating  to  him  how  I  found  those  horses  affected,  and 
requesting  him  (in  the  absence  of  a  State  board  of  health)  to  take  the 
matter  in  hand  if  he  had  any  authority  to  order  the  destruction  of  such 
diseased  animals.     In  reply  I  received  from  him  the  following  answer  : 

I  have  no  authority  under  the  laws  of  this  State  to  do  anything  in  relation  to  the 
diseased  horses  of  which  you  write,  but  I  shall  call  the  attention  of  the  county  attor- 
ney to  the  matter  and  see  whether  he  can  do  anything  by  communicating  with  the 
parties  to  induce  thorn  to  kill  their  diseased  stock. 


HOG  CHOLERA,  OR  SWINE  PLAGUE. 

Having  heard  that  hog  cholera  proved  very  fatal  to  hogs  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Mulvane,  Sumner  County,  Kansas,  I  left  Harper  on  the  morning 
of  the  .  ii  and  arrived  at  Mulvane  in  the  evening.  There  I  saw  Mr.  E. 
F.  Osbon  .  He  informed  me  that  Mr.  Rucker,  Mr.  Kennedy,  and  Mr. 
Smith  had  suffered  heavy  losses  this  yeat  by  the  death  of  their  hogs. 
Next  morning  I  saw  Mr.  A.  A.  Rucker,  who  resides  three-quarters  of 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        239 

a  mile  south  of  Mulvane.  He  told  me  that  a  year  a<;o  a  number  of  bogs 
were  shipped  into  Mulvane,  coming-  from  the  State  of  Iowa.  Several  of 
them  broke  out  of  the  yards  and  had  the  run  of  the  town  for  several 
days.  They  got  in  with  some  hogs  belonging  to  Mr.  Hill,  of  Mulvane; 
soon  afterward  Mr.  Hill's  hogs  began  to  sicken  and  to  die,  Mr.  Kucker's 
hogs  escaped  from  their  x){isturage  and  got  in  with  Hill's  hogs,  rooted 
around,  and  probably  ate  of  some  of  the  dead  ;  in  seven  or  eight  days 
Mr.  llucker's  hogs  became  sick,  and  many  of  them  died — he  lost  2.1  per 
cent.  Ten  females  recovered,  and  were  kept  until  this  spring,  but  failed 
to  breed.  Last  spring  Mr.  Rucker  bought  110  head  of  liogs  from  his 
neighbors,  and  placed  them  on  the  same  grounds  where  the  hogs  had 
died  the  year  previous.  In  the  month  of  June  they  began  to  die;  and 
this  time  he  lost,  including  small  pigs  and  shoats,  150  head.  Ten  of 
them  were  large,  fat  hogs.  Estimate  of  loss,  $800.  I  then  saw  Mr.  E. 
A.  Kennedy,  who  lives  3  miles  south  of  Mulvane.  He  lost  this  year  150 
out  of  350  head  of  hogs,  50  of  them  being  large  heavy  animals.  Esti- 
mate of  value,  $1,000.  Mr.  Smith,  a  neighbor  to  Kennedy,  also  lost  a 
large  number  of  hogs  this  year.  All  the  hogs  in  these  three  different 
herds  have  been  indirectly  exposed  to  the  imported  hogs,  or  to  each 
other.  From  the  description  of  the  symptoms  of  the  disease,  as  given 
me  by  Messrs.  Rucker  and  Kennedy,  I  conclude  that  the  disease  has 
been  true  hog  cholera;  but  none  were  sick  or  recently  died,  therefore 
no  opportunity  was  afforded  me  to  establish  the  nature  of  the  disease 
positively. 


OUTBREAK   OF    SOUTHER^^    CATTLE    FEVER    IX    BUTLER 

COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

In  your  instructions  of  the  9th  of  October,  you  referred  me  to  Sena- 
tor P.  B.  Plumb,  of  Emporia,  for  information  in  relation  to  the  locality 
of  a  disease  among  cattle  in  Butler  County.  I  addressed  a  letter  of 
inquiry  to  Senator  Plumb,  dated , the  13th  of  October,  and  received  the 
following  reply: 

Washington,  D.  C,  October  20,  lSH:i. 
Dear  Sir:  Ydurs  of  the  13th  has  just  reached  me.     I  do  not  know  exactly  whom  to 
suggest  that  you  call  upon  hi   Butler  County  for  information  about  cattle  disease, 
but  if  you  call  on  Hon.  A.  L.  Redden  at  El  Dorado,  or  Hon.  Neil  Wilkie,  at  Douglas, 
they  can  put  you  on  the  track. 
Respectfully, 

P.  B.  PLIMB. 
M.  R.  Trumbower,  V.  S., 

Harper,  Kans. 

After  the  receipt  of  Senator  Plumb's  letter,  I  addressed  the  parties 
referred  to  and  received  answers  from  both,  stating  that  I  should  go 
to  El  Dorado  to  find  what  I  desired.  I  reached  El  Dorado  on  the  7th 
of  November,  and  proceeded  to  Hon.  Redden's  office,  but  found  hinj 
absent ;  his  clerk  took  me  to  the  bank  of  El  Dorado  and  introduced  me 


240  COMTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

to  Mr.  V.  Brown,  who,  iu  turn,  accompanied  ine  to  tbe  city  mayor's  office 
and  introduced  nie  to  him — Dr.  A.  Bassett. 

Dr.  Bassett  assisted  me  very  materially  in  my  investigations  and  man- 
ifested the  greatest  degree  of  interest  iu  my  work  while  I  remained  at  EI 
Dorado.  At  his  office  I  was  introduced  to  the  Kev.  S.  F.  C.  Garrison,  who 
resides  3  miles  west  of  El  Dorado.  He  made  to  me  the  following  statement : 
That  he  placed  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Matthew  Robeson  18  head  of  cattle 
on  the  17th  day  of  April — 17  of  them  being  grown  cattle,  the  re- 
maining one  a  calf;  that  all  of  these  cattle,  excepting  2  head,  were  to 
be  kept  in  the  dry  herd ;  that  on  the  1st  of  June  1  of  these  cattle  was 
taken  away  from  the  herd,  and  on  the  1st  of  July  a  second  one  was  re- 
moved, leaving  16  head  (including  the  calf)  to  remain.  On  the  24th  of 
September  the  16  were  also  taken  home;  this  took  place  owing  to  the 
report  that  cattle  were  dying  in  this  herd  under  suspicious  circum- 
stances. When  Mr.  Garrison  took  his  cattle  home  he  turned  them  into 
a  field  with  12  head  of  other  cattle.  On  the  oOth  day  of  September  1 
cow  died  after  a  sickness  of  two  or  three  days ;  11  of  them  died  in 
rapid  succession,  tlie  last  death  occurring  on  the  10th  of  October.  All 
of  the  11  that  died  had  been  removed  from  the  Robeson  herd;  none  of 
the  home  cattle  became  attected.  Mr.  Garrison  observed  the  symptoms 
manifested  during  the  course  of  the  disease  to  be — 

A  i^eculiai'  odor  arising  from  the  skin  of  tbe  affected  animal ;  then  a  dry,  hard, 
husky  cough,  especiall}'^  when  urged  to  move  around  ;  head  carried  extended  ;  ears 
droop  ;  pnshing  the  head  against  straw-stack  or  fence  ;  loss  of  appetite  ;  no  desire  for 
water  ;  rumination  suspended  ;  segregation  ;  weak  and  staggering  gait ;  saliva  flow- 
ing from  the  mouth  ;  whites  of  the  eye  assume  a  yellow  tinge  ;  perspire  excessively 
toward  evening,  which  is  of  a  very  disagreeable  odor ;  shake  the  head  from  side  to 
side  as  if  in  pain  ;  trembling  of  the  muscles  sets  iu  upon  the  slightest  exertion  ;  pulse 
beats  rapid  and  hard  ;  become  unable  to  rivse  ;  partial  coma  and  death  euds  the  scene. 
One  of  them  lived  eight  days ;  another  five,  and  others  from  three  to  five  days  be- 
fore dissolution  took  place;  several  died  in  strong  paroxysms  of  pain,  manifest  by 
getting  up  and  lying  down  very  frequently,  accompanied  by  violent  efforts  to  urinate 
and  defacate.  The  manure  was  usually  covered  with  blood  and  mucus  and  the  act  of 
urination  was  very  painful. 

Mr.  Garrison  made  three  post-moyfem  examinations,  and  describes  the 
following  appearances : 

Lungs  filled  with  air  and  infiltrated  with  mucus;  the  lining  membrane  of  the  air- 
tubes  seemed  slightly  congested  and  irritated  ;  the  chest  cavity  contained  some  bloody- 
colored  water;  the  contents  of  the  paunch  were  hard,  and  the  medicine  which  had 
been  administered  had  not  been  absorbed;  the  contents  of  the  manifolds  in  two  of 
the  animals  was  baked  and  dry  as  tobacco,  and  the  folds  softened  and  rotten  ;  the 
iutestines  seemed  swollen,  and  the  lining  membrane  coated  with  mucus;  the  kid- 
neys were  of  a  greenish  color,  softened,  and  enlarged ;  the  urine  bladder  was  distended 
with  dark-colored  urine,  one  of  them  containing  fully  one  gallon  of  clotted  black 
blood;  the  heart  was  pale  and  flaccid;  the  blood  in  all  three  cases  was  darker  and 
thicker  than  natural;  it  seemed  to  be  more  like  paint  than  blood;  the  spleen  was 
greatly  enlarged,  and  the  inside  of  it  broifeu  up  into  a  pulp  ;  the  liver  was  thickened 
and  filled  with  blood,  the  outsider  color  being  a  glossy  green,  sonu^-  parts  more  higlily 
colored  than  oth(irs;  the  gall-bladder  coutaiueil  in  one  case  one  quart  of  thick,  viscid, 
yellowish  granular  bile  ;    the  large  blood-vessels  along  the  spine  seemed  diseased, 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        241 

Dresenting  au  unhealthy  iuterual  surface;  in  one  of  the  animals  one  of  the  horns  be- 
came loose  before  death. 

Loss,  11  out  of  18;  value,  $277;  3  recoveries. 

Joseph  Sharp,  living-  in  El  Dorado,  said  tliat  he  hart  3  cows  with  their 
calves,  aurt  2  weanert  calves  iu  Mr.  liobesou's  rtry  herrt;  they  were  put 
iu  on  the  12th  of  May,  and  removed  on  the  25th  of  September.  One  of 
them  manifested  signs  of  sickness  on  the  evening  when  she  was  taken 
home,  and  in  a  week  thereafter  she  died.  This  cow  seemed  to  suffer 
more  pain  during  the  middle  of  the  daj"^  than  in  the  morning  or  evening. 
At  the  lime  the  first  one  died,  two  others  were  found  to  be  sick ;  they 
both  died ;  the  last  death  took  place  on  the  5th  of  October.  Three  of 
the  calves  were  sick,  but  recovered.  Loss,  3  out  of  G;  value,  $125. 
Postmortem  examinations  of  2  of  the  cows  were  made  by  Mr.  Sharp 
He  found  the  bladder  distended  with  a  brownish-red  urine,  spleen  twice 
or  three  titnes  the  normal  size  and  very  dark  colored  on  the  surface. 
In  one  of  them,  which  had  been  purged  by  feeding  corn  and  millet,  the 
contents  of  the  third  stomach  were  found  soft,  in  the  other,  the  contents 
were  hard  and  dry,  "  could  be  shaved  down  into  chips,"  and  the  folds 
black  and  rotten.  The  blood  in  all  3  of  them  that  died  was  too  thick. 
Only  1  of  these  cattle  passed  blood  with  the  feces. 

Mrs.  Smith  lost  one  heifer  in  the  Eobeson  herd  on  the  22d  of  Septem- 
ber; another  one,  which  she  took  home  on  the  25th,  died  on  the  2<Sth. 
She  had  only  2  head  of  cattle  in  the  herd— value,  $G0.  On  the  23d 
of  September  Mr.  Eobeson  called  upon  S.  P.  Barnes,  a  butcher  in  El 
Dorado,  to  make  examination  of  2  head  of  cattle  that  died  in  the 
herd.     Mr.  Barnes  gave  the  following  statement : 

I  found  one  cow  had  been  purging,  and  iu  this  the  contents  of  the  third  stomach 
■were  natural;  the  second  cow  had  been  constipated,  and  in  her  I  found  the  contents 
of  the  tliird  stomach  harder  and  drier  than  natural.  The  livers  and  kidneys  iu  both 
animals  appeared  pale  and  faded  in  color,  as  if  the  coloring  matter  luid  been  removed. 

In  one  I  found  the  urine  bladder  was  empty  ;  in  the,  other  it  was  filled  with  I)loody- 
colored  urine;  in  the  latter  the  iuside  of  the  bladder  seemed  hard  and  tanned,  and 
almost  black  in  color.  The  spleens  were  three  times  as  large  as  uatural,  but  the  liv- 
ers were  not  enlarged.  One  of  the  animals — a  three-year-old  cow — was  not  quite  dead 
when  I  arrived  at  the  place  where  she  hiy.  I  cut  her  throat,  but  hardly  any  blood 
escaped;  the  small  amount  which  liowed  was  too  thin  and  watery.  The  cow  that  I 
found  dead,  also,  was  almost  d^titute  of  blood.  The  tallow  in  both  these  cows  was 
much  too  yellow,  and  I  found  this  same  yellow  condition  of  the  tallow  in  8  or  10  other 
cattle  which  died  afterward  on  the  same  range  with  the  same  disease.  The  meat  of 
these  cattle  was  light  colored,  like  veal,  and  a  disagreeable  odor  was  present  iu  all 
of  the  animals,  dead  and  living.  I  never  before  saw  any  cattle  sick  with  or  die  of 
Texas  fever,  but  the  moment  I  saw  these  I  was  satisfied  that  they  died  with  that 
disease. 

E.  B.  Cook,  residing  7  miles  northwest  of  El  Dorado,  stated  that  he 
placed  G  head  of  cattle — all  cows  and  heifers — in  the  dry  herd  of  Mr. 
Robeson  on  the  Gth  day  of  May,  and  took  them  away  on  the  23d  of 
September.  One  of  them  died  on  the  27th,  another  on  the  30lh,  and  a 
third  one  on  the  4th  day  of  October.  Two  of  them  passed  bloody  urine. 
Two  that  were  sick  recovered.  When  he  took  them  home  he  placed 
5751  D  A IG 


242  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

them  into  a  field  with  14  head  of  other  cattle.  None  died  but  those  ex- 
posed on  the  Robeson  range.  Loss,  3  out  of  6  ;  value,  $100  ;  ti  recov- 
eries, 

Mossman  Bros,  reside  8  miles  northwest  of  El  Dorado.  History  by 
Henry  Mossman  :  On  the  6th  day  of  May  18  head  of  cows  and  calves 
were  taken  into  the  Eobeson  herd,  and  remained  until  the  25th  of  July. 
They  were  then  sold  to  Bearsley  &  McAnaly.  Twenty  three  head  of 
steers  were  placed  into  tliissame  herd  on  the  25th  of  July,  and  17  cows 
on  the  2 1st  of  September.  On  the  23d  of  September  the  steers  and 
cows  were  taken  home.  One  of  the  steers  was  sick  on  the  day  he  was 
removed  from  the  herd,  and  died  on  the  day  following ;  6  more  died 
in  the  course  of  three  weeks,  and  4  that  were  sick  recovered.  Of  the 
17  cows  which  remained  in  the  herd  only  2  days,  4  sickened,  and  2  of 
them  died — the  first  one  on  the  10th  of  October,  the  other  one  a  few 
days  later.  The  medication  resorted  to  consisted  in  giving  one  gallon 
of  melted  lard  at  a  single  dose.  In  three  cases  this  dose  was  repeated,^ 
and  in  a  fourth  one  an  addition  of  ten  dro^is  of  croton  oil  was  given. 
Outi  of  the  4  so  treated  1  died.  None  that  recovered  had  been  seen  to 
pass  bloody  urine,  but  in  a  few  the  manure  was  covered  with  coatings  of 
mucus  and  blood  clots.  Mossman  Brothers  made  two  post  mortem  ex- 
aminations, which  revealed  tbe  following  pathological  conditions :  Blood 
was  contained  in  the  bladder;  in  one  blood  extravasations  were  found 
in  the  region  of  the  kidneys;  also  on  the  surface  of  the  body,  extending 
along  the  spine  for  a  space  of  18  inches.  This  one  died  twenty-four 
hours  after  the  first  evidence  of  sickness  was  discovered.  The  spleens 
were  greatly  enlarged  ;  livers  appeared  about  natural.  The  contents  of 
the  third  stomach  were  normal  in  one  case ;  in  the  other  they  were  dry. 
Loss,  7  out  of  23  steers,  valued  at  $315,  and  2  cows  out  of  17,  valued  at 
$G0 ;  6  recoveries. 

1  tested  the  temperature  of  4  of  the  animals  that  had  been  sick,  which 
registered  as  follows:  103.2^,  103°,  102.6°,  102°;  of  one  which  had  not 
been  sick,  102,2°  F.  These  cattle  are  all  looking  well,  and  are  fatten- 
ing rapidly,  Tliey  are  confined  in  a  straw  yard,  and  get  all  the  corn 
they  can  eat.  Tbe  hogs  at  Mossman's  ate  one  of  the  dead  cattle:  ten 
days  thereafter  4  of  them  were  noticed  to  be  sick;  3  recovered  in  about 
ten  days;  1  died  in  five  or  six  days.  The  owe  that  died  had  a  fit  of 
apoplexy  two  months  previous,  and  had  never  entirely  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  it;  was  subject  to  involuntary  discharge  of  feces  and 
urine,  and  had  an  imperfect  control  over  its  movements,  Matthew 
Kobeson,  a  herder  of  cattle  residing  in  El  Dorado,  made  the  following 
statement  to  me:  That  he  has  held  a  range  for  fonr  snccessive  years, 
extending  from  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city  of  El  Dorado  5  miles 
northwest,  by  2  or  3  miles  wide;  that  he  has  been  herding  cattle  be- 
longing to  himself  and  to  other  parties  on  this  range  this  season,  be- 
ginning to  take  them  in  on  the  17th  day  of  April.  The  first  death 
among  his  herd  occurred  on  the  10th  day  of  September — a  cow  owned 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    J)OMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        243 

by  Mr.  Saxtou  ;  the  second  one  wliicU  died  was  an  animal  belonging  to 
Mrs,  Smith;  she  died  on  the  22d;  on  the  day  following  2  head  died  be- 
longing to  Mr,  King. 

He  then  had  an  examination  instituted,  and  as  a  result  of  that  ex- 
amination notified  all  the  owners  of  cattle  in  his  possession  to  remove 
them  forthwith.  Mr.  Robeson  also  stated  that  he  received  into  his  herd 
on  the  20th  day  of  July  75  head  of  cattle  belonging  to  Davis  &  Con- 
nelly, butchers,  of  El  Dorado ;  that  some  of  these  cattle  remained  on  the 
range  until  the  28th  of  September.  They  were  half-breeds  with  the  ex- 
ception of  7  hea<l,  which  were  supposed  to  be  thorough  Texaus.  The 
Texans  were  in  poor  condition  when  they  were  brought  on  the  range, 
and  were  marked  on  the  middle  of  the  left  side  with  an  inverted  A  [y] 
brand.  Again  Mr.  Tiobeson  stated  that  he  received  from  Isaac  King 
300  head  of  cattle  on  the  9th  of  June. 

Mr.  King  bought,  during  the  winter,  along  the  north  line  of  Arkansas 
and  south  line  of  Missouri  1,000  head  of  cattle,  collected  them  at  Fort 
Scott  in  March,  ship})ed  them  at  the  latter  jjlace,  and  unloaded  at  El 
Dorado  on  the  2oth  of  April.  He  drove  them  on  the  range  north  and 
northwest  of  El  Dorado,  and  there  herded  them  until  the  9th  of  June. 
He  then  drove  700  of  them  into  Colorado  on  his  cattle  ranch,  and  placed 
the  remaining  300  head  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Robeson,  who  already 
occupied  the  range  at  that  time  with  a  number  of  the  town  and  other 
cattle.  On  the  9th  of  August  120  head  more  of  the  King  cattle  were 
taken  into  Colorado.  I  next  saw  Mr.  Connelly,  of  the  tirm  of  Davis  & 
Connelly,  and  got  from  him  the  following  history: 

I  bought  on  the  18th  of  July  68  head  of  half-breed  cattle  from  Mr.  Page.  These 
cattle  had  been  wintered  on  Deer  Creek,  12  miles  southeast  of  Caldwell,  Sumner 
County,  Kansas.  When  I  bought  them  they  were  on  a  range,  owned  by  Mr,  Cox,  6 
miles  southeast  of  Caldwell,  on  Bluff  Creek.  I  bought  7  head  more  to  fill  out  the  car ; 
these  were  brought  to  Caldwell  early  in  the  spring  from  Benton  County,  Arkansas. 
I  unloaded  at  El  Dorado  on  the  20th  of  July,  and  placed  my  cattle  in  the  care  of  Mr. 
Robeson.  When  I  bought  the  7  head  of  Arkansas  cattle  they  were  with  a  herd  of 
.'iO  or  60  good  grade  native  cattle,  a  fl^OO  bull  and  several  polled  Angus  cattle.  None 
of  the  latter  died  during  this  season. 

Mr.  Connelly  also  informed  me  that  Mr.  Carter,  whose  farm  adjoins 
that  of  Mr.  Cox,  lost  38  out  of  50  or  60  head  of  cattle.  Five  of  them 
were  full  blood  polled  Angus,  and  another  a  Hereford  bull,  for  which 
Mr.  Carter  paid  $1,000  last  spring.  All  of  Carter's  cattle  were  held 
securely  in  an  inclosed  field,  and  have  not  been  exposed  to  any  foreign 
cattle. 

On  the  10th  I  saw  Mr.  James  Mossman,  who  had  just  returned  from 
Caldwell,  where  he  had  been  to  ascertain  where  the  Connelly  cattle 
came  from.  As  near  as  he  could  discover  the  08  head  were  bought  from 
Mr.  Carter ;  had  been  wintered  cattle,  half-breeds  ;  that  Mr.  Carter 
lost  many  cattle  at  about  the  same  time  that  the  cattle  began  to  die  at 
El  Dorado,  and  that  Mr.  Connelly  had  bought  the  7  head  from  a  Mr. 
Smythe  (the  agent  for  Mr.  Donaldson,  of  Arkansas  City).  These  7 
head  were  supposed  to  be  through  cattle  from  the  Pan  Handle,  and 


244 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


were  bought  out  of  a  herd  ou  the  Johnson  and  Hosmer  range,  near 
Caklwell,  in  the  Indian  Territory.  On  Sunday,  November  11,  accom- 
l)anied  by  Dr.  Bassett  and  Mr.  Davis,  I  drove  out  to  ex-Brig.  Gen.  G. 
T.  Wilde's,  who,  with  his  copartner.  Colonel  Mason,  are  engaged  in  the 
breeding  and  feeding  of  cattle.  Colonel  Mason  was  absent  from  home, 
but  General  Wildes  gave  me  the  following  history : 

Mr.  Miison  visited  Halstead,  Harvey  County,  Kansas,  in  the  mouth  of  August ; 
here  he  found  that  a  number  of  cattle  had  died — town  cows — with  the  Texas  fever, 
attributed  to  infection  received  through  a  herd  of  cattle  brought  from  the  line  of 
Arkansas  and  Missouri;  that  these  were  the  only  foreign  cattle  brought  into  Hal- 
stead  tbis  season.  These  cattle  must  come  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  from  the  same 
section  of  country  as  that  from  which  the  King  cattle  are  said  to  be  derived. 

On  the  12th  I  went  out  over  the  range  where  Robeson  had  herded 
his  cattle  during  the  summer.  I  found  it  to  be  an  elevated  ridge  of 
limestone  soil,  extending  for  miles  northward  along  the  west  side  of  the 
Walnut  Creek.  The  Walnut  Creek  supplied  the  cattle  with  water 
morning  and  evening.  The  water  was  perfectly  sweet  and  pure.  At 
noon  the  cattle  drank  from  a  spring  creek,  which  takes  its  origin  from 
several  springs  located  on  the  range.  The  grasses  are  the  usual  prairie 
grasses  found  throughout  the  middle  section  of  the  State,  composed 
chiefly  of  bunch  grass  or  blue  top,  blue  grass,  and  here  and  there  is  to 
be  seen  small  patches  of  buftalo  grass,  the  latter  occurring  where  there 
is  alkali  soil  or  the  remains  of  what  are  called  buflalo  wallows. 

I  also  went  out  with  Mr.  Robeson  to  examine  and  to  see  the  condition 
of  the  King  cattle.  These  are  the  only  cattle  which  yet  remain  in  the 
charge  of  Mr.  Robeson  and  are  located  in  a  corral  2  miles  west  of  town 
for  winter  feeding.  I  found  them  to  be  ver^^  diminutive  cattle  (mullet 
heads)  and  also  in  a  very  poor  condition  to  withstand  the  inclemency 
of  winter.  Many  of  them  were  three-year-old  steers,  but  none  of  them 
exceeded  600  pounds  weight.  Many  of  them,  however,  have  been  sick, 
but  have  so  far  recovered  as  to  begin  to  lay  on  flesh  again.  I  tested 
the  tem])erature  of  7  head  that  had  been  sick,  which  registered  as  fol- 
lows :  100°,  100.2°,  91)o,  101°,  lOl.lo,  102°,  101° ;  of  four  that  have  not 
been  sick,  97.7°,  101.4°,  101.3°,  and  100.8°  F. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Robeson  I  am  enabled  to  make  an  accu- 
rate tabulated  statement  of  the  number  of  cattle  that  were  placed  iu 
his  care  during  the  season,  the  dates  at  which  he  received  them,  and 
the  time  when  they  were  removed  from  the  infected  range: 


Date  of 
reception. 

Owners. 

Jf  limber 

received. 

Number 
died. 

Number 
recovered. 

Value. 

WheD  re- 
moved. 

April  17 
17 

R«v.  S.  F.  C.  Garrison 

18 
5 
1 
1 
I 

.  3 
2 

1 

1 

11 

3 

$277 
40 

Sept.  24. 
Sept.  2J. 
do  ... 

17 

17 

40 
40 

17 

Mr.  IJalili 

Sept.  23. 
do  .    . 

May       2 

1 

40 

.  do  . . . 

li 

Mr.  WliitH 

40 

i 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


245 


Dat^-  of  I 
reception. 


Owners. 


M-^y 


July 
Aug. 


23 


Mr.  Pascal 

Mr.  Car])enter 

Mo.ssmau  Bros 

E.  B.  Cook 

M.  Kobesou 

Mr.  Jones 

Mr.  McAnaly 

Mr.  Stilcr  ..■. 

Josexth  Sharp 

Mr.  Mclutyre 

Mr.  Glaze  ~. 

Mr.  Sappington 

Beartlsly  &  McAnaly. 


Number 
received. 


June      9  I  Lsaac  Kins 


9 
July  20 
May       6 

6 
July  25 
Sept.    21 


Beardsly  &  McAnaly. 

Davis  &  Connelly 

Mr.  Tuttle '. 

Mr.s.  Smith 

Mossiuan  Bros 

do 

Milk  herd 


1 
5 

18 
6 
3 
3 
2 
1 
6 
1 
3 
1 
100 


3 

75 

3 

2 

23 

17 

124 


Number  |    Number 
died.      '  recovered. 


Value. 


,  When  re- 
moved. 


$40 

ioo 


Total 


n 


(*) 


(*) 


40 


115 
60 

315 
60 

325 


Sept.  23 
. . .  do  . . . 

July    25. 

Sept.   23. 

...do  ... 
...do  ... 
...do  ... 
....do  ... 

Sept.  25. 

Sept.  23. 
. . . . do  . . . 
...do  ... 

Aug.  27. 

Aug.  and 

Nov.    10. 

Sept.  24. 
(*) 


Sept.  23. 

do  ... 

....do  ... 


2,237 


*  Were  removed  in  small  lots,  September  28. 

The  milk  herd  coiitained  exclusively  milch  cows  from  town,  but  were 
herded  on  the  same  range  with  the  dry  herd,  although  the  two  herds 
were  kept  separated  for  convenience.  Mr.  N.  Rittenhouse  herded  300 
head  of  cattle  north  of  the  Robeson  range,  but  he  came  no  nearer  than 
1  mile  to  the  range  of  the  latter ;  neither  have  the  cattle  in  the  care  of 
Mr.  Rittenhouse  crossed  any  of  the  trails  of  the  Robeson  cattle  or  been 
exposed  to  them  or  any  other  cattle  in  any  manner  whatsoever.  They 
have  been  supplied  with  water  from  Walnut  Creek,  and  have  grazed 
over  the  same  character  of  soil  and  grasses  as  have  the  cattle  of  Robe- 
son's. Rittenhouse  has  not  lost  a  single  animal  out  of  his  herd  during 
the  whole  grazing  season. 

In  view  of  all  the  facts  and  the  circumstances,  as  they  appear  to  me, 
I  am  compelled  to  attribute  the  appearance  of  Southern  cattle  fever  at 
El  Dorado  to  the  importation  of  Southern  cattle  by  Mr.  Connelly. 

APPEARANCE   OF   DISEASE   THREE  DAYS   AFTER  EXPOSURE. 

On  my  way  to  Harper,  in  October,  I  met  Mr.  E.  F.  Osborn,  of  Mul- 
vane,  Sedgwick  County,  Kansas,  who  related  to  me  his  experience 
with  southern  cattle  fever,  viz  : 

Oil  or  about  the  1st  of  October,  18G9,  \my  partner  and  I  started  from  Saliiia  with 
240  head  of  high  grade  native  cattle,  bred  by  ourselves.  We  drove  south  80  miles  to 
Sedgwick  City;  then  we  cro.ssed  the  through  cattle  trail,  driving  our  cattle  as  fast 
as  X'ossible.  We  then  drove  20  miles  farther  south  and  ^topped  for  winter  feeding. 
On  the  third  day  after  crossing  we  found  one  high-grade  cow  sick  ;  on  the  5th  she 
died,  and  a  hundred  more  were  sick;  in  ten  days  after  the  disease  first  appeared  200  o  f 
the  240  were  dead.  We  then  drove  the  remaining  40  head  into  the  Arkansas  River, 
and  left  them  standing  there  in  the  wat^r.  Some  of  them  were  so  sick  that  when 
they  first  went  into  the  river  they  could  hardly  keep  on  their  feet.  Many  of  them  re- 
mained there  from  seven  to  ten  or  twelve  days ;  could  not  be  driven  away  from  the 
water ;  but  they  all  recovered.  These  40  head  were  the  poorest  in  the  whole  herd  of 
240  when  we  started  with  them.     Before  we  left  Salina  we  had  a  hard  frost,  and  dur- 


246  CONNAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

iug  the  drive  south  we  had  several  frosts  and  continuous  cool  weather.  We  consid- 
ered ourselves  safe  in  starting  after  the  frost ;  but  to  obviate  all  danger  we  endeavored 
to  keej)  a  safe  distance  away  from  the  through  trail ;  therefore  we  kept  20  miles  west 
of  it  until  we  had  to  cross  it;  we  then  turned  a  square  corner  and  drove  across  the 
trail. 

I  asked  Mr.  Osboru  if  it  might  not  be  possible  that  they  crossed  trails 
of  Southern  cattle  between  Salina  and  Sedgwick,  but  he  said  he  was 
sure  they  had  not.  If  their  cattle  were  exposed  only  to  the  through 
trail  then  the  stage  of  incubation  in  the  first  cow  was  probably  less 
than  three  days,  positively  not  more  than  four. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

M.  R.  TRUMBOWER,  V.  S. 

Sterling,  III.,  December  20,  1883. 


INVESTIGATION  OF  SOUTHERN  CATTLE  FEVER. 


REPORT  OF  DR.  H.  J.  DETMERS. 

Hon.  George  B.  Loring, 

Commisioner  of  Agriculture : 

Sir:  111  the  following  1  have  the  honor  of  submitting  my  report  on 
southern  cattle  fever.  In  my  last  report  I  took  the  liberty  of  stating 
what  has  been  accomplished,  and  what  yet  remains  to  be  done;  also 
what  I  considered  as  the  chief  object  of  my  investigation,  namely,  to 
discover  the  true  cause  of  that  apparently  mysterious  disease.  My  ob-' 
servations  and  experience  of  last  year  more  than  ever  convinced  me 
that  the  (exciting)  cause  of  southern  cattle  fever  consists  in  something 
tutimately  connected  with  or  dependent  upon  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Southern  flora,  and  not — at  least  not  directly — due  to  the  climate  and 
higher  temperature  of  the  Southern  States,  which  only  indirectly  exerts 
its  influence  or  aids  in  its  production  and  propagation.  The  cause  of 
southern  cattle  fever  consists  in  something  that  requires  for  its  produc- 
tion certain  conditions  given  in  the  Southern  States,  or  in  those  parts 
•of  our  extensive  territory  in  which  the  fever  has  its  origin  or  permanent 
source.  Some,  perhaps  most,  of  the  conditions  favorable  to  its  develop- 
ment, and  some  of  those  unfavorable  to  the  same,  are  kujwn.  If  one 
•carefully  studies  the  facts  communicated  in  my  last  report,  he  will  find 
that  decaying  vegetable  substances,  a  certain  degree  of  warmth  and 
moisture,  and  a  low  elevation  above  the  ocean,  are  necessary  requisites 
and  important  factors  in  the  development  of  the  infectious  principle  ; 
while  a  low  temperature,  a  high  altitude,  and,  without  hardly  any  doubt, 
an  absence  of  moist  and  decaying  vegetable  substances  are  detrimental 
to  its  propagation.  In  proof  of  this,  allow  me  to  briefly  restate  some 
of  the  more  salient  facts,  apparently  in  part  contradictory  of  each  other, 
but  facts  notwithstanding.  As,  however,  my  experience  has  only  been 
with  Texas  and  Western  cattle  I  will  limit  my  remarks  to  them,  without 
intimating,  though,  that  I  regard  the  disease  in  (juestion  as  an  exclu- 
sive product  of  Texas  or  of  the  Southwest,  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  other  Southern  States  and  the  West  Indies  are  just  as  well  a  source 
of  southern  fever  as  Texas. 

1.  Native  Texas  cattle  never  contract  southern  cattle  fever,  and  pos- 
sess immunity  against  infection  as  long  as  they  remain  on  their  native 
range  or  north  of  the  same,  provided  they  are  not  kei)t  long  enough  north 

247 


218  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

(in  any  of  the  "N'orthern  States)  to  become  there  acclimated,  or,  in  other 
words,  have  never  passed  a  winter  in  the  North.  But  the  same  cattle 
iftakeu  from  their  native  range  and  tlriven  or  shipped  south  will  grad- 
ually lose  their  immunity  in  i>roportion  to  the  distance  they  go  further 
south,  and  thus,  if  going  far  south,  finally  become  liable  to  be  infected 
and  to  contract  the  fever.  This  shows  the  infectious  principle  must  be  the 
more  intense  the  further  south  the  locality. 

2.  If  Texas  or  other  Southern  cattle,  to  all  appearances  themselves 
perfectly  healthy,  are  shipped  or  driven  North,  away  from  their  native 
range,  after  new  grass  has  appeared  and  become  interwoven  or  inter- 
mixed with  the  old  dead  grass  of  last  year's  growth,  which,  owing  to 
the  warmer  weather  and  the  usually  abundant  rains  of  the  early  South- 
ern spring,  is  in  a  decaying  condition,  and  these  cattle,  thus  compelled 
to  eat  both  the  intermingled  old  and  new  grass,  have  but  once  taken  a 
good  meal  of  this  mixed  herbage,  they  will  as  soon  as  they  arrive  at  a 
certain  latitude  further  north  infect  every  trail  and  pasture  on  which 
they  graze,  and  every  water-hole  out  of  which  they  dnnk,  with  the  in- 
fectious principle  of  southern  cattle  fever.  And  the  native  Northern 
cattle  following  them  will,  after  some  interval  of  time  (period  of  incuba- 
tion), contract  the  disease,  as  a  rule,  in  its  most  fatal  form. 

3.  If  Texas  or  other  Southern  cattle  are  moved  to  the  North  before- 
any  new  grass  has  made  its  appearance  on  their  nativ^e  range,  or  rather 
before  the  dead  grass  of  last  year's  growth  has  commenced  to  decay,  na 
infection  of  Northern  pasture,  &c.,  will  take  place,  no  matter  how  far 
north  the  Southern  cattle  may  be  shipped  o''  driven.  If,  however,  the 
cattle,  thus  leaving  their  native  range  in  the  South  earlj'  in  the  season, 
or  in  the  winter,  should  travel  slow  enough  to  be  yet  within  a  part  of 
the  South  in  which  the  southern  cattle  fever  has  its  permanent  source, 
when  warm  weather  and  abundant  spring  rains  cause  a  decay  of  the 
old  grass  and  start  a  vigorous  growth  of  the  new,  the  effect  will  be 
precisely  the  same  as  if  the  cattle  had  been  kept  that  long  on  their  na- 
tive range;  only  the  infectious  principle  imparted  to  the  Northern  past- 
ures, &c.,  may  be  a  trifle  less  virulent,  and  taken  up  b}'  Northern  cat- 
tle may  cause  a  somewhat  milder,  though  in  a  majority  of  cases  yet 
fatal,  attack  of  the  disease.  I  had  repeated  occasions  to  observe  that 
the  fever,  as  a  rule,  is  the  mere  severe  the  further  south  the  source  of 
the  infectious  principle. 

4.  Northern  cattle  shipped  to  Texas,  or  to  other  parts  of  the  South^ 
will  contract  the  disease,  and  as  a  rule  die  of  it,  if  only  once  pastured 
soon  after  their  arrival  on  land  that  contains  both  old  and  new  grass — 
particularly  if  it  is  so-called  hog- wallow  land — or  if  only  once  allowed  to 
drink  out  of  a  water-hole  receiving  the  drainage  of  such  land. 

5.  Grown  Northern  cattle  imported  into  Texas  usually  contract  the 
disease  with  more  certainty,  and  in  a  more  fatal  form,  than  imported, 
Northern  calves  and  yearlings.  Whether  such  is  the  case  because  the 
latter  have  a  smaller  mouth,  are  more  dainty  eaters,  and  better  able  ta 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        249 

pick  out  the  blades  of  grass  they  want,  and  to  refnse  what  they  do  not 
like,  or  whether  their  young  organism  is  better  adapted  to  resist  the  in- 
fluence of  the  pathogenic  principle,  I  will  not  now  decide,  and  will  only 
mention  that  some  young  animals,  even  calves,  contract  the  disease  in 
just  as  acute  and  severe  a  form  as  full-grown  cattle. 

6.  In  the  North — say  north  of  the  southern  boundary  line  of  Kansas — 
the  disease  is  only  communicated  through  trails,  pastures,  and  grazing 
grouiuls,  or  rather  their  grasses  and  other  food-plants,  and  water  holes 
previously  infected  by  Southern  cattle  ;  but  it  usually  does  not  make  its 
appearance  until  the  latter  part  of  July  or  in  August,  or  until  the  North- 
ern prairies,  fields,  and  pastures,  owing  to  the  heat  and  often  abundant 
rains  of  the  summer,  contain  a  comparatively  large  amount  of  vegeta 
ble  debris  or  decaying  vegetation,  which,  it  seems,  is  an  important  fac- 
tor in  propagating  the  pathogenic  principle  if  once  deposited.  That  a 
proi)agation  of  the  once  deposited  pathogenic  principle  actually  takes 
place  on  the  grass  or  herbage  of  the  trails,  pastures,  or  grounds,  &c.,  and 
outside  of  the  animal  organism,  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  the 
period  of  incubation,  as  a  rule,  is  a  long  one,  if  the  native  Northern 
cattle  immediately,  or  within  a  few  daj^s,  follow  the  Southerners  on  the 
trails,  pastures,  &c.;  while  it  usually  is  considerably  shortened  if  a  few 
or  several  weeks  intervene  between  the  time  at  which  the  Southern  cat- 
tle left  and  the  time  at  which  the  Northern  cattle  entered  the  infected 
premises.  As,  however,  the  infectious  principle  is  not  volatile,  and  is 
uot  disseminated  through  the  air  or  by  winds,  its  propagation  on  the 
grass  and  herbage  of  the  infested  grounds  may  not  be  the  sole  cause  of 
shortening  the  period  of  incubation,  and  the  difference  just  stated  may 
also,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  accounted  for  by  the  following  fact :  In  about 
two,  three,  or  four  weeks  after  a  herd  of  cattle  has  left  its  grazing  grounds 
(trail,  pasture,  prairie,  &c.,  as  the  case  may  be)  a  fine  crop  of  young 
and  juicy  grass  will  be  found,  if  the  season  is  not  unfavorable  to  its 
growth,  wherever  the  cattle  have  grazed  ;  while  at  all  those  places  or 
spots  where  they  have  not  been  grazing  the  grass  will  be  comparatively 
old  and  tough.  If  a  herd  of  native  or  Northern  cattle  immediately  fol- 
lows a  herd  of  Texas  or  other  Southern  cattle,  which  have  infected  the 
premises  with  the  pathogenic  principle  of  southern  cattle  fever,  the 
former  will  principally  graze  where  they  find  grass,  and  not  where  the 
Southern  cattle  have  cropped  it,  and  where  they,  at  the  same  time,  have 
deposited,  as  I  shall  explain  further  on,  the  infectious  principle.  But  if 
the  herd  of  Northern  cattle  enters  the  pastures,  &c.,  formerly-  occupied 
by  the  Southern  cattle  two,  three,  or  four  weeks  after  the  latter  left 
them,  or  after  a  new  crop  of  young  grass  has  made  its  appearance,  the 
former,  for  obvious  reasons,  will  prefer  to  graze  at  the  very  places  where 
the  Southern  cattle  have  grazed,  and  deposited  the  pathogenic  princi- 
ple. As  it  is  well  known  that  the  length  of  the  i)eriod  of  incubation 
depeiuls,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  upon  the  quantity  and  intensity  of 
the  infectious  i)rinciple  taken  up  by  the  animal  organism,  no  further  ex- 
jilanatiou  will  be  necessary. 


250  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

7.  In  higher  altitudes,  buch  as  in  Colorado  for  instance,  the  south- 
ern cattle  fever,  although  sometimes  appearing  after  an  infection  of  the 
grounds  by  Southern  cattle,  is  much  less  malignant  than  in  the  lower 
countries  farther  east,  antl  comparatively  seldom  proves  fatal,  a  fact 
which  may  find  its  explanation  that  in  a  higher  altitude  the  atmosphere 
is  thinner  and  dryer,  and  less  charged  with  organic  substances ;  besides, 
the  temperature,  on  an  average,  is  lower.  All  this  is  less  favorable  to 
a.  deca^'  of  vegetable  substances  and  a  propagation  of  bacteritic  growth 
than  the  warmer  climate  and  the  more  dense  and  moist  atmosphere  of 
a  lower  country.  The  dead  or  dried  grasses  of  the  Colorado  plains, 
under  the  influence  of  the  dry  air,  and  often  prevailing  dry  winds,  are 
g,Tound  to  dust,  and  thus  disappear  before  any  decay  sets  in. 

8.  The  morbidly  attected  tissues  of  animals  affected  with  or  killed  by 
the  southern  cattle  fever,  even  if  examined  at  once,  invariably  contain 
bacteria*  of  the  micrococcus  and  bacillus  kind,  and  it  appears  to  be  very 
probable,  particularly  in  the  light  of  recent  research  in  regard  to  infec- 
tious diseases  and  their  causes,  that  at  least  one  of  these  two  kinds  of 
bacteria  bears  some  causal  connection  to  the  morbid  process.  My  own 
observations,  examinations,  experiments,  and  a  careful  consideration 
of  undeniable  facts,  point  toward  the  bacilli,  and  not  to  the  micrococci- 
My  reasons  I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  state  further  on. 

9.  If  all  the  facts  known  in  regard  to  the  communication  of  southern 
■cattle  fever  to  Northern  cattle  by  means  of  trails,  grazing  grounds,  past- 
ures, water-holes,  «!ycc.,  are  duly  considered  as  they  present  themselves^ 
there  can  hardly  remain  any  doubt  that  the  infection  of  the  trails,  past- 
ures, &c.,  must  be  etfected  by  means  of  the  saliva  or  slaver  of  the  south, 
ern  cattle.  In  proof  of  this  assertion  I  may  be  allowed  to  state  a  few 
facts  bearing  on  this  point,  and  also  to  briefly  dwell  upon  other  theories 
now  and  then  advanced.  First,  as  to  the  latter.  One  theory  charges 
the  infection  to  a  deposit  of  the  urine  of  the  Southern  cattle.  If  it  were 
tlie  urine  that  causes  the  infection  only  those  comparatively  small  and 
far  apart  spots  in  which  the  urine  of  the  Southern  cattle  is  deposited 
would  be  able  to  communicate  the  disease  to  Northern  cattle,  for  it  has 
been  established  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  infectious  principle  is  not  car- 
ried through  the  air  or  disseminated  by  winds,  and  that  even  a  wire 
fence  separating  a  pasture  occupied  by  Northern  cattle  from  a  trail  or 
pasture  of  Texas  cattle  {cf.  my  last  report)  is  ample  protection.  Besides, 
cattle  are  not  apt  to  graze  where  another  animal  has  urinated  ;  and  as 
the  urine  is  sodn  absorbed  by  the  ground  or  evaporated  it  could  never 
be  explained  how  it  can  be  possible  that  the  infectiousness  of  a  pasture 
or^trail  increases  in  intensity,  at  least  for  several  weeks  after  the  South- 
ern cattle  have  left  it.  If  the  urine  constituted  the  vehicle  of  the  infec- 
tious principle,  the  wholesale  infection  of  every  Northern  herd  of  cattle 
that  passes  over  and  grazes  on  a  trail  of  the  Southerners,  or  feeds  on 

*  The  word  "bacteria,"  unless  otherwise  stated,  is  used  as  a  jcpn^ric  term,  because 
better  understood  by  the  avcrago  reader  thau  Scliizophytos  or  Schizomycetes. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        251 

a  pasture  that  has  beeu  occuined  by  the  latter,  would  hardly  be  possi- 
ble, and,  at  the  utmost,  only  one  or  a  few  animals  of  a  herd  would 
contract  the  disease.  Another  theory  charges  the  excrements  of  South- 
ern cattle  with  constituting  the  vehicle  of  the  pathogenic  principle. 
The  objections  just  made  against  the  urine  theory  will  also  dispose  of 
the  dung  theory;  besides,  all  cattle,  but  particularly  grown  animals, 
carefully  avoid  to  graze  where  other  cattle  have  deposited  their  excre- 
ments. They  are  apt  to  sniff"  at  places  where  horses  have  voided  their 
■dung,  and  when  suffering  from  certain  digestive  disorders,  attended 
witli  a  vitiated  appetite,  may  even  eat  some  horse  manure,  but  they 
will  never  graze  if  they  can  help  it  where  the  dung  of  their  own  kiud 
has  been  deposited,  a  fact  well  known  to  every  cattleman.  It  may  be  pos- 
sible that  some  pathogenic  bacteria  pass  oft"  with  the  dung,  or  even  with 
the  urine;  but  if  they  do,  they  most  assuredly  do  not  furnish  the  princi- 
pal source  of  infection.  Another  theory  charges  the  hoofs  of  the  Southern 
cattle  with  being  the  communicators  of  the  infectious  principle.  This  the- 
ory, too,  can  be  easily  disposed  of,  even  if  it  were  possible  that  the  hoofs 
were  able  to  take  up  the  pathogenic  principle  (bacteria,  for  instance), 
at  the  native  range,  and  convey  it  to  some  other  place,  that  other  place 
could  only  be  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  because  at  every  step  in 
the  grass  the  hoofs  are  wiped,  and  in  mud  or  water  they  are  apt  to 
lose  whatever  may  cling  to  them  ;  besides,  neither  the  horn  of  the  hoof 
nor  the  skin  of  the  foot  constitutes  the  soil  or  medium  needed  for  the 
reproduction,  preservation,  and  propagation  of  such  a  pathogenic  prin- 
ciple as  that  which  causes  the  southern  cattle  fever.  Even  if  the  skin 
of  the  foot,  particularly  in  the  cleft  between  the  hoofs,  constituted  a 
suitable  medium,  and  att'orded  all  the  conditions  necessary  to  the  exist- 
ence and  reproduction  of  the  pathogenic  principle,  the  constant  wiping 
and  friction  which  those  parts  are  subjected  to  on  the  march  would  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  conveying  the  principle  (bacteria)  in  that  way 
a  thousand  miles  or  even  farther.  Still  another  theory,  which  has  yet 
a  great  many  adherents  even  among  practical  cattle-men,  charges  the 
ticks  often  found  on  Texas  cattle  with  being  the  bearers  of  the  infectious 
principle,  or  even  with  constituting  themselves  the  pathogenic  agency. 
The  principal  objection  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  against  this  theory 
is  the  fact  that  Southern  cattle  free  from  ticks  will  infect  Northern  past- 
ures, «&c.,  just  as  soon  as  those  that  have  them,  and  that  ticks  of  the 
same  kind  also  occur  in  countries  in  which  the  southern  cattle  fever 
never  originates  or  makes  its  appearance,  unless  it  is  introduced  by 
Southern  cattle  infecting  a  trail,  pasture,  water-hole,  &c.  The  ]>erspi- 
ration  (through  the  skin)  ol  Southern  cattle,  and  even  the  expirations 
(from  the  lungs)  have  been  accused  of  constituting  the  pathogenic  prin- 
ciple, or  the  vehicle  of  the  same.  ]5ut  this  theory,  too,  is  fallacious,  for, 
if  true,  the  pathogenic  agency  would  be  of  a  volatile  nature,  and  be 
communicated  through  the  air,  which  it  evidently  is  not,  as  already 
-Stated,     llence,  the  only  thing  that  remains  as  the  probable  vehicle 


252  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMLSTICATED    ANIMALS. 

aud  mediniu  of  the  patho<;fenic  principle  is  the  saliva  or  slaver  of  the 
Southern  cattle  deposited  by  them,  not  only  wherever  they  graze  and 
wherever  they  drink,  but  also  often  dropping  in  strings  from  their 
mouths  when  on  their  march.  Any  one  familiar  with  droves  of  Texaa 
and  Cherokee  cattle  will  have  observed  that  they  produce  more  saliva 
and  slaver  more  profusely  than  any  other  cattle  not  driven,  or  at  rest  j 
and  cattle,  when  grazing,  while  grasping  with  their  tongues  a  bunch  of 
grass,  and  drawing  it  into  their  mouth  to  be  cut  off  by  their  incisors, 
necessarily  soil  the  stubbles  which  remain  standing  with  their  saliva, 
particularly  if  slavering,  as  traveling  Texas  cattle  always  do.  This 
saliva  or  slaver  is  somewhat  sticky,  and  the  microscopic  organisms 
(bacteria)  it  may  contain  are  thus  temporarily  glued  to  the  grass  that 
remains  on  the  ground.  The  bacteria,  thus  deposited  with  the  slaver 
(saliva  and  mucous  secretions  of  the  mouth),  And  a  new  soil  which 
offers  them  all  the  conditions  necessary  to  their  existence  and  prop- 
agation, particularly  if  old  and  decaying  grass  or  vegetation,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  is  existing  among  or  between  the  stubbles  of  the  grass 
that  has  been  torn  oft'.  Dew  and  rain  afterward  provide  the  neces- 
sary moisture  and  also  the  means  of  further  distribution.  If  the  South- 
ern cattle,  before  being  shipped  or  started  on  their  journey  toward  the 
Korth,  take  up  on  their  native  range  or  at  any  place  between  their 
Southern  home  and  their  ^Torthern  destination,  but  south  of  a  certain 
latitude,  the  pathogenic  bacteria  of  southern  cattle  fever — and  there 
can  be  hardly  any  doubt  that  bacteria  which  have  their  source  or  origin. 
in  the  South  constitute  the  infectious  principle  or  the  cause  of  that  dis- 
ease— either  with  their  food  or  their  water  for  drinking,  the  bacteria,  of 
course,  will  first  pass  into  the  paunch,  where  they  find  all  the  condi- 
tions (a  suitable  medium,  warmth,  and  moisture)  necessary  to  their  ex- 
istence and  propagation.  Ascending  to  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  with 
the  juices  of  the  paunch  when  the  animal  is  ruminating,  they  find  a 
new  and,  at  the  same  time,  excellent  medium  in  the  saliva  and  mucous- 
secretions,  and  thus  it  becomes  possible  not  only  that  the  bacteria  re- 
tain their  vitality,  and  that  the  "Same  vastly  increase  in  numbers,  even 
if  the  journey  of  the  cattle,  as  to  time  and  distance,  is  a  long  one,  but 
also  that  one  herd  of  Southern  cattle  is  able  to  infect  a  large  territory 
(trails,  pasture-grounds,  &c.),  at  a  long  distance,  a  thousand  miles  or 
more  from  their  native  range.  I  might  advance  several  more  argu- 
ments in  proof  of  the  assertion  that  grazing  grounds,  trails,  pastures, 
yards,  water-holes,  &c.,  are  infected  by  means  of  the  slaver,  and  that 
all  other  theories  are  untenable,  but  to  do  so  will  be  in  time,  and  can 
be  done  with  much  more  force,  after  it  has  been  proved  beyond  a  doubt 
that  a  certain  kind  of  bacteria  constitutes  the  true  and  the  sole  cause 
of  the  disease.  To  conclude,  I  may  be  allowed  to  remark  that  all  the 
phenomena  of  an  infection — the  non-volatile  character  of  the  infectious- 
principle,  the  varying  period  of  incubation,  the  more  frequent  occur- 
rence of  the  disease  in  difi'erent  seasons  according  to  latitude,  the  kill- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        253 

ing'  of  the  infections  principle  by  continnons  cold  weather,  or  by  a  lieavy 
frost,  and  the  wholesale  infection  of  Northern  herds  of  cattle — will  find 
a  full  explanation,  if  the  slaver  constitutes  the  medium,  in  which  the 
patho|jenic  principle  lives  and  propagates  in  the  Southern  cattle  when 
taken  north,  and  in  which  it  is  deposited  ou  the  grass,  in  the  water, 
&c.,  while  the  same  cannot  be  explained,  if  not  the  saliva,  or  rather  the 
saliva  and  mucous  secretion  combined,  but  something  else  constitutes 
the  medium. 

As  above  stated,  I  have  reasons  to  believe  that  of  those  bacteria 
found  in  the  morbidly  affected  parts,  particularly  in  the  liver  and  in 
the  sj)leen  of  cattle  affected  with  the  southern  fever,  the  bacilli  and 
not  the  micrococci  constitute  the  pathogenic  principle,  or  bear  a  casual 
connection  to  the  morbid  i)rocess.  Still,  I  will  not  deny  that  the  mi- 
crococci, too,  may  possibly  possess  septic  properties,  particularly  if  ob- 
tained from  a  part  in  a  slate  of  dissolution,  for  instance,  from  the 
spleen,  an  organ  which  1  invariably,  at  every  postmortem  examination, 
found  to  be  in  a  disorganized  couditiou,  eveu  if  the  affected  animal  has 
been  killed  by  bleeding  or  by  a  i)istol-ball.  Such  micrococci,  if  inocu- 
lated into  the  organism  of  a  healthy  aninuil,  may  have  a  septic  effect, 
and  may  even  cause  disease  and  death,  and  still  may  not  constitute  the 
infectious  principle  of  the  southern  fever.  According  to  what  is  known 
of  the  behavior  and  the  pathogenic  action  of  the  various  known  path- 
ogenic bacteria  the  morbid  process  and  the  morbid  changes  ih  southern 
cattle  fever  point  toward  bacilli  and  not  at  all  toward  micrococci  as  the 
probable  cause.  Particularly  the  fact  that  the  infectious  princii)le, 
whatever  it  may  be,  is  never  conveyed  through  the  air  from  one  place 
to  another,  and  requires  in  order  to  produce  morbid  changes  in  an  ani- 
mal a  very  long  jjcriod  of  incubation,  and  then  rather  suddenly  de- 
velops its  malignant  action,  it  seems  to  me  almost  excludes  the  possi- 
bility of  a  micrococcus  constituting-  the  cause.  It  is  true,  in  anthrax, 
a,  disease  known  to  be  caused  by  a  bacillus,  the  period  of  incubation  is 
a  very  short  one,  at  least  in  those  cases  in  which  the  disease  is  com- 
municated from  a  diseased  to  a  healthy  animal,  but  the  attack  invaria- 
bly is  a  sudden  one,  and  Bacillus  unthracis  not  only  shows  a  very 
rapid  propagation,  but  is  also  otherwise  entirely  different  froiu  the  ba- 
cilli found  in  southern  cattle  fever.  A  micrococcus,  as  a  rule,  propa- 
gates too  rapidly  to  require  a  very  long  lime  for  the  development  of  its 
pathogenic  action,  and  would  fill  the  wliole  organism,  aiul  very  likely 
be  found  in  every  dro})  of  blood,  long  before  the  sometimes  vciy  long- 
periods  of  incubation  of  the  southern  fever  has  expired  ;  besides  that, 
every  infectious  principle  known  to  consist  of  micrococci  or  dii)loci)Cci 
is  more  or  less  volatile  and  can  be  communicated  tlirougli  the  air,  while 
those  consisting  of  bacilli  usually'  show  a  different  behavior.  But  of 
course,  if  there  were  no  other  reasons,  those  just  given,  resting  only 
upon  analogy,  might  not  carry  much  weight,  or  decide  anything,  and 
might  be   met  by  saying  that   the  micrococci  or  diplococci  found  in 


254  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

southern  cattle  fever  may  be  entirely  diflerent  in  their  behavior  from 
any  other  known  species  of  pathogenic  micrococci.  There  are,  how- 
ever, some  other  facts  which  tend  to  show  that  the  bacilli  and  not  the 
micrococci  most  likely  constitute  the  pathogenic  principle. 

1.  The  bacilli  are  a  constant  occurrence  in  the  diseased  parts,  but  par- 
ticularly in  the  liver  aud  in  the  spleen  of  cattle  that  are  affected  with 
or  have  died  of  southern  cattle  fever. 

2.  The  bacilli  sufficiently  differ  in  shape  and  size  from  all  other  well- 
known  species  to  be  at  one  recognized  when  seen  under  a  sufficiently 
high  power,  a  fact  which  I  intend  to  demonstrate,  not  by  a  description 
or  by  drawing,  but  by  photo-micrographs,  as  soon  as  I  shall  be  able  to 
obtain  fresh  material  in  which  the  bacilli  have  not  been  subjected  to  any 
change  whatever  b^^  the  action  of  hardening  fluids  or  reagents. 

3.  In  three  sections  of  liver  aud  spleen  recentlj'  mounted  in  balsam, 
but  cut  last  winter  from  pieces  of  liver  and  spleen  which  were  hard- 
ened thirteen  months  ago,  when  perfectly  fresh,  in  alcohol  and  in  a 
a  solution  of  bichromate  of  potash,  and  have  since  been  preserved  in 
alcohol,  the  bacilli  are  yet  intact,  and  under  a  high  power  homogeneous 
immersion  objective  are  easily  recognized  as  the  same  kind  of  bacilli 
which  I  never  failed  to  And  in  the  diseased  livers  aud  spleens  when  exam- 
ined fresh.  Besides,  the  bacilli  do  not  merely  adhere  to  the  surface  of 
the  sections,  but  appear  to  be  imbedded  in  the  tissue,  because  they  are 
found  at  different  depths,  and  require  to  be  seen  under  a  high  power 
and  different  focusing,  according  to  the  plane  in  which  they  lie.  The 
sections,  when  cut  last  winter,  were  stained  in  "  Beale's  carmine,"  and 
before  being  mounted  Avere  restained  in  an  aqueous  solution  of  methyl- 
violet  (1:500),  but  after  they  had  been  in  alcohol  and  oil  of  cloves,  and 
been  mounted,  the  aniline  staining  had  almost  entirely  disappeared, 
been  washed  out  by  the  alcohol  and  oil  of  cloves,  and  thus  the 
bacilli,  which  did  not  take  the  carmine  stain,  appear  but  indifferently 
stained  with  methyl  violet,  and  are  rather  pale,  but  are  plainly  seen 
aud  easily  recognized. 

4.  The  micrococci  or  diplococci  that  may  have  been  present  in  the 
liver  and  spleen  are  nowabsent^at  least  cannot  be  found  notwithstand- 
ing a  most  careful  search,  which  proves  to  me  that  the  same,  if  they 
have  been  present  in  those  tisssues,  must  have  been  there  by  accident, 
or  have  existed  only  in  the  fluids,  and  have  never  been  imbedded  in  the 
solids  like  the  bacilli.  In  my  opinion  the  facts  just  related  plainly  show 
that  the  presence  of  the  bacilli  cannot  be  an  accident,  but  must  have 
some  connection  with  the  morbid  process. 

Last  year,  when  investigating  the  southern  cattle  fever  in  the  South- 
west, and  even  before,  when  I  made  my  flrst  observations  on  that  disease 
and  several  ^ost-wior<ew  examinations  of  cattle  that  had  died  in  Cham- 
paign, I  became  fully  convinced  that  I  had  to  deal  with  a  bacteritic 
disease,  or  with  a  disease  that  owes  its  existence  to  some  ])athogeni(; 
bacterium.     As  it  is  admitted  that  the  southern  cattle  fever  has  its 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        255 

origin  or  permauent  source  in  the  South,  I  could  not  help  arriving  at 
the  conclusion,  after  taking  all  the  peculiarities  presented  into  consid- 
eration, that  the  pathogenic  principle  ^bacterium)  must  be  connected 
with,  or  be  dependent  upon,  the  flora  of  the  Southern  States,  and 
cannot  be  the  direct  product  of  the  climate  or  the  higher  average 
temperature.  Having  f»)und  the  bacilli  in  the  morbidly  atfected  tissues 
several  years  ago  at  my  tirst  examination  of  the  southern  cattle  fever  at 
Champaign,  and  considering  them,  even  at  that  time,  as  the  probable, 
or  at  least  possible,  cause  of  disease,  I  naturally  looked,  when  in  Texas, 
for  something  corresponding  to  be  found  on,  or  to  be  connected  with, 
the  herbage  and  grasses  which  constitute  the  food  of  the  cattle  on  the 
Texas  cattle  ranches.  The  well  known  experiments  of  Dr.  Buchner 
directed  my  attention  to  infusions — natural  and  artificial — of  the  dead 
and  decaying  grasses  of  Texas  hog-wallow  land — to  those  of  the  latter 
in  particular,  as  it  was  repeatedly  stated  by  experienced  Texas  ranch- 
men that  hog-wallow  land  is  considered  as  the  most  dangerous  grazing 
ground  for  cattle  recently  imported  from  the  North.  The  natural  in- 
fusions 1  found  in  the  si)ring  prepared  in  the  so-called  hog-wallows 
themselves,  alid  the  artificial  infusions  were  made  by  putting  some  of 
the  dead  grass  in  a  vessel  and  pouring  rain-water  over  it.  When  ex- 
amining my  infusions,  I  found,  as  could  scarcely  otherwise  be  expected, 
a  variety  of  microscopic  organisms  (bacteria),  but  among  them,  in  larger 
or  smaller  numbers,  invarially  a  bacillus  which,  in  every  respect,  closely 
resembled  both  in  size  and  form  those  bacilli  which  I  had  found  before 
and  found  afterwards  in  the  liv^er  and  spleen  of  the  diseased  cattle — 
certainly  something  worthy  of  further  investigation. 

As  I  look  upon  it,  the  principal  object  in  investigating  an  infec- 
tious disease,  ])arti(;ularly  if  the  same  is  very  fatal,  causes  great 
losses,  and  is  capable  of  spreading  a  great  distance,  must  be  to  ascer- 
tain the  true  cause,  and  to  become  acquainted  with  its  nature  and  its 
mode  of  action,  and  the  means  and  conditions  necessary  to  its  exis 
tence,  propagation,  and  communication.  As  long  as  we  are  in  tlie 
dark  in  regard  to  the  cause  of  a  disease,  particularly  if  the  latter  is 
infections,  our  treatment  and  our  i^rophylactic  measures  can  only  be  of 
an  empirical  charactei-,  and  at  best  be  very  uncertain.  But  as  soon  as 
we  know  the  cause,  its  mode  of  action,  its  means  of  existence,  and  its 
manner  of  pro[)agation  and  communication,  we  have  gained  a  great 
advantage,  for  then,  if  tlie  cause  is  accessible  and  can  at  all  be  de- 
stroyed its  effects  can  be  neutralized  or  its  propagation  and  communi- 
cation can  be  prevented.  The  possibility  is  then  given  to  devise 
rational  measures  which  will  have  the  desired  eftect.  Therefore,  sin- 
cerely believing,  nay.  almost  convinced,  that  my  endeavors  to  discover 
the  cause  of  the  southein  cattle  fever  are  in  the  right  direction,  it  is 
and  has  been  my  desire  to  subject  my  conclusions,  above  stated,  to  a 
practical  test,  and  to  decide  by  experiment  whether  the  same  are  cor- 
rect or  erroneous.     Last  year  1  made  some  etibrts  in  that  direction,  but 


:256       CONTAGIOUS  diseases  of  domesticated  animals. 

the  experiments,  for  reasons  stated  in  my  last  report,  did  not  meet 
"witb  satisfactory  results,  and  Some  unavoidable  mistakes  were  com- 
mitted. So,  for  instance,  I  inoculated  a  Texas  cow,  wbicli  undoubtedly 
possessed  immunity,  but  was  the  only  animal  at  my  disposal,  and  as  I 
had  to  remain  in  Texas  I  delegated  that  part  of  my  experiments,  of 
which  success  migLt  have  been  expected,  because  to  be  carried  out  in  the 
North,  where  the  cattle  do  not  possess  immunity,  to  a  friend.  It  also 
miscarried  for  reasons  stated  in  my  last  report.  Another  experiment, 
made  by  myself  in  the  North,  was  made  on  very  young  animals,  and  too 
late  in  the  season,  and  besides  this,  some  other  mistakes,  partly  un- 
avoidable, and  known  to  be  mistakes  when  made,  and  partly  due  to  a 
want  of  facilities  and  inexperience,  were  committed,  which  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  enumerate,  for  they  will  be  avoided  in  the  future.  All 
this  combined,  however,  amply  accounts  for  the  want  of  success,  which, 
therefore,  has  not  decided  anything.  Besides  it  is  to  me  exceedingly 
doubtful  whether  a  disease  not  known  to  have  ever  been  directly  or 
indirectly  communicated  by  a  diseased  animal  to  a  healthy  one  can  at 
all  be  inoculated  in  the  usual  way.  At  any  rate  no  well  authenticated 
case  of  any  direct  infection  or  communication  of  the  disease  from  a 
diseased  animal  to  a  healthy  one  is  on  record,  while  many  cases  are 
known  in  which  animals  took  sick  with  southern  cattle  fever  and  died 
of  it  in  the  midst  of  healthy  herds  and  none  of  the  heathy  animals, 
unless  previously  infected,  ever  contracted  the  disease.  Neither  is  it 
positively  known  that  Northern  cattle  or  cattle  themselves  susceptible 
to  an  infection  ever  infected  northern  pastures,  «&c.  Still,  whether  under 
certain  circumstances  they  are  able  to  do  so  is  another  question.  North- 
ern or  susceptible  cattle,  grazing  on  premises  or  drinking  out  of  water- 
holes  infected  by  Southern  cattle,  almost  invariably  contract  the 
disease  and  die  of  it  before  the  system  becomes  accustomed  to  the 
action  of  the  pathogenic  principle  (the  bacteria),  and  charged  with  the 
same  to  such  an  extent  that  the  latter  will  be  present,  and  be  con- 
stantly reproduced  in  the  mucous  secretions  of  the  mouth  and  in  the 
juices  of  the  })aunch. 

But  it  stands  to  reason,  if  they  (the  Northern  cattle)  gradually  ac- 
quired immunity  like  the  Texans,  and  then  continued  for  a  certain 
length  of  time  to  occupy  infected  premises  and  to  take  up  the  infec- 
tious i)rinci[)le,  or  if  it  were  j)0ssible  to  charge  their  syst(,Mn  with  the 
pathogenic  principle,  as  just  indicated,  before  they  contract  the  dis- 
ease and  die  of  it,  then  these  Northern  cattle,  if  driven  to  uninfected 
pastures,  would  probably  infect  the  latter  just  as  effectively  and  just 
as  soon  as  Southern  cattle,  particularly  if  the  Northern  cattle  were 
first  driven  like  a  herd  of  Texans,  and  thus  caused  to  shiver.  That 
suscei)tible  cattle,  or  such  as  will  contract  the  disease,  do  not  com- 
municate it  to  otiicrs,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  probably  also  admits  an 
.exi)lanation.,  if  all  known  facts  are  taken  into  due  consideration. 

In  the  first  place,  tlie  pathogenic  princii)le  (the  bacteria)  of  south- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        257 

em  cattle  fever  does  not  seem  to  be  iudigeuoiis  to  the  animal  system, 
but  very  likelj'  belongs  to  the  decaying  grasses  and  herbage  of  the 
South,  and  only  by  what  may  be  called  accident  enters  the  animal 
organism.     In  Southern  cattle,  or  in  such  as  possess  immunity,  that 
is,  in  such  in  whicli  the  pathogenic  principle  (the  bacteria)  produces  no 
morbid  changes  important  enough  to  seriously  disturb  the  health  of  the 
animal,  the  organs,  which  constitute  the  j)rincipal  seat  of  the  morbid 
process  in  diseased  cattle,  the  liver,  spleen,  &c.,  it  seems,  have  either 
become  accustomed  to  the  action  of  the  bacteria,  or  else  have  gradually 
become  sterilized  ground,  and  thus  cease  to  be  a  favorable  medium. 
That  such  is  the  case  will  be  understood,  if  it  is  kept  in  mind — 1,  that 
the  first  introduction  of  the  bacteria  into  the  organism  of  Southern 
cattle  takes  place  while  the  latter  are  young  calves,  which,  as  is  well 
known,  possess  much  less  susceptibility  than  grown  cattle  ;  2,  that  the 
number  of  bacteria  taken  up  the  first  time  undoubtedly  is  a  compara- 
tively small  one  and  not  sufficient  to  cause  serious  miscMef,  but  just 
large  enough,  particularly  if  sui)plemented  by  successive  small  inva- 
sions, to  gradually  cause  an  immunity,  which,  although  but  temporary, 
will  last  for  some  time  after  the  invasions  have  ceased.     As  long  as 
Southern  cattle  occupy  infected  territory  the  bacteria  will  enter  their 
organism   with  the  food   and  water  for  drinking,  and  finding  in  the 
paunch  all  the  elements  necessary  for  their  development  and  propaga- 
tion, many  of  them  probably  reach  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  by  ascending 
with  the  food  and  the  juices  of  the  paunch  during  the  process  of  rumina- 
tion, and  then  in  the  mucous  secretions  and  saliva  again  find  a  favor- 
able medium  in  which  their  exist«^nce  and  propagation  are  fully  se- 
cured, and  by  which  they  become  glued  to  the  grass,  &c.,  as  has  been 
above  explained.     It  is  possible  that  a  great  many  of  the  bacteria 
taken  up  with  food  or  drink,  or  developed  in  the  paunch,  and,  may  be, 
the  majority  of   them,  pass  on  with  the  food    through    the  digestive 
canal,  and  are  discharged  with  the  dung ;  but  if  they  are  they  will  be 
comparatively  harmless,  because  they  will  be  confined  to  those  spots 
at  which  the  dung  is  dropped,  and  at  which  other  cattle,  as  a  rule,  do 
not  like  to  graze. 

If  Northern  cattle,  not  at  all  accustomed  to  the  action  of  these  bac- 
teria, take  them  up  with  this  food  or  drink  for  the  first  time,  the  bacteria 
likewise  enter  the  paunch,  and  propagate  in  that  organ,  but  passing 
on  into  the  other  stomachs  and  the  intestines,  they  probably  cause  in- 
creased activity  and  increased  absorption,  or  even  lesions,  by  irritating 
the  mucous  membrane,  and  thus  may  find  their  way  into  those  organs — 
the  liver  and  the  spleen — in  which  afterward  the  morbid  i>rocess  of 
the  Southern  fever  has  its  ])rincipal  seat,  while  in  Soutliern  cattle  such 
an  irritation  of  the  digestive  canal,  which  in  tliem  has  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  j)resence  of  the  bacteria,  is  either  very  limited  or  does  not 
take  place.  That  the  bacteria,  or  whatever  may  constitute  the  infec- 
tious i)rinciple,  produce  irritation  and  congestion  in  the  digestive  canal 
5751  D  A 17  ' 


258  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

resulting  iu  most  cases  in  increased  absorption  in  the  third  stomach, 
and  in  lesions  in  the  fourth  stomach  and  a  part  of  the  intestines,  is 
demonstrated  by  the  morbid  changes  usually  found  in  those  organs  at 
post  moytcm  examinations.  It  is,  however,  also  possible  that  the  bac- 
teria, or  a  large  number  of  them,  reach  the  liver,  the  i)rincipal  and, 
according  to  my  observations,  primary  seat  of  the  morbid  process,  in  a 
more  direct  way — through  the  duodenum.  Tlie  bacteria,  if  once  passed 
beyond  the  second  stomach,  or  domiciled  in  interior  organs,  for  instance^ 
in  the  liver,  spleen,  &c.,  cannot  very  well  ascend  to  the  mouth,  there 
mingle  with  the  saliva  and  mucous  secretions,  and  thus  be  deposited 
on  the  ground;  consequently  Northern  (;attle  <'annot  very  well  infect 
pastures,  «&c.,  unless  every  day  a  new  h)t  of  bacteria  is  taken  up  and 
propagated  iu  the  ])aunch,  as  is  the  case  with  Southern  cattle.  Of 
course  the  explanation  Just  given  I  wish  to  be  considered  onl3'_as  a 
strong  hint.  Something  more  definite  may  be  said  after  it  has  been 
conclusively  demonstrated  what  bacterium  constitutes  the  true  cause 
of  the  southern  fever. 

When  returning  to  Texas  last  spring — I  arrived  in  San  Antonio  about 
the  1st  of  May — it  was  my  intention,  as  I  explained  on  the  24:th  of  April, 
when  in  Washington,  to  collect  and  to  prepare  what  I  believe  to  be  in- 
fectious material,  and  to  return  to  the  Xorth  in  about  a  month  to  com- 
plete my  preparations  (bacillus  cultivations,  i&c),  and  then  to  put  them 
to  a  practical  test.  I  intended  to  return  to  the  North  for  two  reasons: 
First,  no  southern  cattle  fever  could  be  found  in  Texas,  nor  could  it  be 
expected  to  occur  before  December,  because  the  native  Texas  cattle 
possess  immunity,  and  the  Texas  ranchmen,  at  least  the  more  intelli- 
gent ones,  and  all  those  who  have  had  any  exi)erience  with  the  South- 
ern fever,  take  care  not  to  iu)port  any  Northern  cattle  except  late  in 
the  fall  and  in  the  winter,  for  they  have  fouiul  that  to  be  the  least  dan- 
gerous season  of  the  year.  Secondly,  my  proi)osed  experiments  could 
only  be  expected  to  give  satisfactory  results  if  made  on  susceptible 
Northern  cattle,  and  at  a  place  where  a  natural  infection  is  out  of  the 
question.  But  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  when  my  preparations  were 
nearly  completed,  and  I  about  ready  to  leave  for  the  North,  circum- 
stances beyond  my  control  compelled  me  to  remain  in  Texas.  Of  course 
my  plans  could  not  be  carried  out,  my  preparations  could  not  be  used, 
and  the  question  I  was  so  anxious  to  decide  for  the  time  being  had  to 
renuiin  unsolved.  1  had  orders  to  investigate,  besides  southern  cattle 
fever,  also  other  infectious  diseases  of  more  than  local  importance. 
But  in  Texas  the  infectious  and  contagious  diseases  of  domesticated 
animals,  which  are  of  general  interest,  or  of  an  e[)izootic  character,  are 
very  few  in  number,  and  without  any  fear  of  contradiction  I  may  say 
there  is  hardly  a  country  on  the  globe  in  which  cattle  and  live  stock  in 
general  are  less  subject  to  disease  than  in  Texas.  It  is  true  Texas 
ranchmen  sometimes  sutfer  great  losses,  particularly  in  the  latter  part 
of  winter,  but  these  losses  are  not  caused  by  disease,  and  almost  with- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        259 

out  exception  result  from  want  of  food,  want  of  water,  or  want  of  shelter 
in  inclement  weather.  Losses  that  occur  during  the  summer  months 
are  far  less  severe,  and  are  mostly  caused  by  insects  and  their  larvie. 

Besides  the  southern  cattle  fever,  which  does  not,  at  least  not  visibly, 
affect  the  native  Texas  cattle,  the  only  infectious  disease  of  any  im- 
portance is  so-called  "black-leg"  or  "black  quarter"  (the  anthrax  symp- 
^owfl/(Vy?(^>  of  the  French),  but  even  this  disease  occurs  only  at  certain 
localities  and  during  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  particularly  in  the 
spring,  and  in  my  opinion  will  become  a  rare  occurrence  in  the  graz- 
ing districts  of  Texas  as  soon  as  Texas  stockmen  will  learn  that  dead 
animals  must  be  buried  or  be  cremated,  and  that  it  is  bad  i)olicy  to  allow 
live  stock  to  drink  the  water  of  stagnant  pools.     The  infectious  and 
epizootic  diseases  occurring  among  sheep  were  investigated  last  year, 
and   although  I  do  not  claim   that  everything  worth   knowing  about 
them  has  been  brought  to  light,  enough  is  known  to  enable  the  Texas 
tlock-master  to  apply  such  measures  of  prevention  as  will  protect  his 
flocks.     Besides,  the  spring  is  not  the  time  in  which  those  sheei)  dis- 
eases make  their  appearance,  and,  owing  to  a  severe  winter  (severe  for 
Texas  at  least),  hardly  any  case  occurred  or  came  to  my  knowledge. 
Last  year  an  epizootic  disease  occurred  among  the  hoi'ses  on  the  Gulf 
coast,  but  this  year  nothing  of  that  kind  hanpened,  at  least  not  as  far 
as  I  was  able  to  learn.     So  not  much  could  be  done,  except  examining 
some  cases  of  so-called  "black-leg,"  and  in  regard  to  these  I  was  not 
able  to  ascertain  anything  that  is  not  already  known,  because  being  in 
a  thinly  settled  country  and  far  from  home  I  lacked  the  necessary  fa- 
cilities, such  as  a  laboratory  and  experimental  station.     If  it  is  desired 
to  study  and  to  thoroughly  investigate  the  disease  known  as  "black- 
leg," it  can  be  done  more  easily  and  with  better  facilities  in  a  more 
thickly  settled  country,  where  the  distances  are  not  so  great  as  they 
are  in  Texas.     Hence  toward  the  end  of  July. or  about  the  fiist  of 
August,  I  asked  the  Department,  brieHy  stating  my  reasons,  to  be  re- 
called from  Texas,  and  in  reply  to  my  letter  I  received  orders  which  as- 
signed me  to  other  work.     So  I  left  Texas  in  the  forepart  of  August. 
Very  respectfully  submitted. 

H.  J.  DETMERS. 

DfiCEMBEK  1,  1883. 


CONTAGlOLfS  ANIMAL   DISEASES. 


BY  EZRA  M.  HUNT,  M.  J).,  SC.  D.,   TBENTON,  N.  J. 

Tbe  relations  of  domestic  auimals  to  the  public  health — to  food  and 
milk  supply — the  comparative  study  of  their  diseases  as  thiowinj?  light 
on  hu?nan  ailments,  and  the  immense  financial  and  commercial  import 
of  an3' serious  diseases  occurring  to  them,  cannot  but  impress  any  one 
who  will  give  to  the  subject  that  consideration  which  its  im])ortauce 
demands. 

In  18G2  the  medical  officer  of  the  privy  council  of  Great  Britain  made 
an  important  report  on  the  diseases  of  live  stock  in  their  relations  to 
the  public  supplies  of  meat  and  milk.  In  that  pa])er  Prof.  John  (lara- 
gee  states  the  number  of  horned  cattle  in  the  United  Kingdom  at 
7,040,998,  and  calculates  the  loss  by  deaths  among  tht^se  auimals  at 
£0,000,000.  The  census  of  1880  states  the  number  of  food  animals  in 
the  United  States  at  91,805,232.  The  chief  epizootics  named  in  the  re- 
port referred  to  are  rinderpest,  or  typhoid  or  enteric  fever  of  cattle, 
which  always  spreads  from  the  Russian  steppes ;  contagious  pleuro- 
pneumonia of  cattle,  a  disease  always  extending  from  Central  Europe, 
though  i)r()bably  traceable  to  Asia  and  Africa,  in  some  parts  of  which  it 
is  a  very  common  disease ;  the  epizootic  aphtha^,  murrain,  or  the  foot- 
and-mouth  disease,  and  sheeppox.  Of  the  enzootic  diseases,  which  de-. 
pend  on  local  causes,  and  one  parallel  to  endemics  in  man,  anthrax  or 
carbuncular  fever  takes  the  lead.  Of  this  there  are  so  many  varieties 
of  classification  and  description  that  we  cannot  yet  be  said  to  have  a 
settled  nomenclature.  Thus,  splenic  apoplexy,  braxy  in  sheej),  the 
black-leg  or  quarter-ill  of  Britain,  and  other  erysipelatous  forms  in  the 
sheep  and  pig,  boils  and  carbuncles,  parturition  fevers,  hog  cholera, 
Texas  cattle  fever,  and  some  other  ailments  have  been  included  in  this 
class.  Add  to  these  the  parasitic  diseases  of  animals,  and  we  have  a 
score  or  more  of  diseases  which  are  either  deadly  to  the  animals  or  in- 
jurious to  meat  and  milk  as  food  products.  Many  of  these  are  commu- 
nicable, not  only  to  different  varieties  of  animals,  but  to  human  beings 
as  well. 

None  of  these  diseases  are  claimed  to  have  originated  on  American 
soil,  except  it  be  the  Southern  cattle  fever,  whicli  is  regarded  by  many 
as  only  a  variety  of  anthrax.  When  we  consider,  too,  that  rinderpest, 
pleuro-pneumonia,  and  foot-and-mouth  disease  were  brought  to  (Ireat 
Britain  from  the  Continent,  and  that  the  ravages  of  these  diseases  have 
200 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        261 

cost  and  are  costing  the  British  Government  millions  of  pounds  sterling 
annually,  is  it  not  wise  for  us  to  accept  the  signals  of  precaution  and 
prevent  them  from  becoming  indigenous  ?  As  yet  rinderpest  aiul  foot- 
and-mouth  disease  have  not  obtained  a  foothold,  and  contagious  pleuro- 
pneumonia has  not  passed  the  i)oint  of  possible  extinction.  Pleuro- 
pneumonia reached  England  about  ISili;  foot-and  mouth  disease  in 
1839;  sheep-pox  in  1847.  Of  rinderpest  there  have  been  four  out- 
breaks, viz.,  in  1715,  1865-'6G  (the  most  destructive  one),  187li,  and 
1877.  We  have  been  singularly  fortunate  in  that  we  have  escaped  two 
of  these  formidable  diseases.  Kinderpest  is  not  very  likely  to  obtain  a 
foothold  here,  but  foot  aud-mouth  disease,  with  its  great  contagiousness 
and  its  immense  loss  to  milk-producing  animals,  is  greatly  to  be  feared. 
Fortunately,  rumors  of  an  outbreak  in  the  Far  West  proved  to  be  un- 
founded. But  the  fact  is  well  known  that  more  than  once  it  has  arrived 
at  our  i)orts  from  abroad,  and  has  been  prevented  from  spreading  here 
by  rigid  inspections  on  arrival  and  close  quarantine  after  landing.  Dur- 
ing the  past  year  the  disease  has  been  so  prevalent  in  the  United  King- 
dom as  to  cause  widespread  alarm  and  great  pecuniary  losses. 

W^e  propose  in  this  paper  to  state  some  facts,  observations,  and  opin- 
ions as  to  contagious  pleuro-i^neumonia,  and  also,  in  connection  with  the 
detail  of  some  experiments  as  to  foot-and-mouth  disease,  to  offer  a  few 
comments  upon  it. 

CO>'TAGIOrS   PLEURO-PNEVMONIA. 

The  general  course  and  symptons  of  pleuro-pneumonia  are  so  well 
i  known,  and  have  been  so  fully  and  accurately  described  in  the  reports  of 
I  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  that  there  is  no  need  of 
i  repeating  them  here.  The  only  points  upon  which  perhaps  there  is 
I  need  of  more  extended  observation  and  a  more  concurrent  testimony  is 
i'  whether  climate  or  other  conditions  have  modified  this  disease  as  found 
'  on  American  soil,  and  whether  different  grades  of  stock  are  equally  sub- 
ii  ject  to  its  ravages.  Xo  one  can  see  much  of  the  disease  without  being 
I  struck  with  the  great  variations  in  its  malignancy.  We  have  seen  out- 
I  breaks  in  which  every  animal  attacked  seemed  early  to  become  mortally 
i  sick,  and  where  one  or  both  lungs  changed  in  a  short  time  from  a  weight 
1  of  three  pounds  to  over  twenty.  In  other  cases  the  course  of  the  dis- 
I  ease  has  seemed  mild,  and  most  of  the  animals  were  likely  to  recover. 
;l  This  has  led  to  a  distinction  among  some  veterinarians,  so  that  they 
'  have  come  to  speak  of  certain  cases  as  English  or  European,  and  of 
j  others  as  American  cases.  It  would  be  a  good  service  if  this  Depart- 
[  ment  could  obtain  the  comparative  statistics  of  English  and  American 
'  cases,  and  the  accurate  testimony  of  creditable  veterinarians  who  liave 
I  had  in  charge  many  cases  both  in  this  country  and  abroad. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  in  certain  exposed  sections,  as  on  Stateu 
Islaiul,  common  pneumonia  is  frequent  and  fatal  among  cattle,  and  that 
some  of  these  have  been   mistaken  for  contagious  plcuro-itnenmonia. 


262  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS 

We  last  year  offered  to  visit,  ou  uotice  by  telegra])b,  any  sach  cases  of 
common  i)ueumouia,  Avhicli  an  extensive  practitioner  tbere  asserted  lie 
had  frequently  seen,  bnt  as  yet  have  received  no  such  notification. 

The  coiita<iions  cliaracter  of  plenro  pneumonia  in  this  country  has 
certainly  not  diminislied  with  the  change  of  climate.  Still  there  is  some 
reason  to  believe  that  our  severer  winters  tend  to  freeze  out  the  disease, 
and,  wlioi-e  there  has  been  a  full  exposure,  give  us  a  better  hope  of  inter- 
rupting its  contagiousness;  yet  the  contagion  itself  seems  very  persistent 
unless  thcje  is  subjection  to  freezing  and  to  various  methods  of  disin- 
fection. It  is  well  established  that  after  an  outbreak  had  ceased  for  a 
year  or  more,  the  removal  of  the  old  barns  and  the  exposure  of  the  un- 
frozen ground  beneath  at  once  revived  the  disease.  A  case  not  long 
since  occun  ed  on  Long  Island  where  the  transfer  to  the  new  sheds  and 
the  destructiouof  the  old,  near  by,  seemed  to  originate  or  reproduce  the 
plague.  Facts  are  accumulating  to  show  that  the  accidental  protection 
from  frost  caused  by  shelter  seems  to  continue  some  Of  the  coutagious 
both  of  men  and  of  animals.  This  is  one  of  the  contagions  probably  not 
wafted  far,  but  quite  indestructible  unless  largely  exposed  to  air,  to 
severe  cold,  and  to  disinfection. 

But  the  most  imjiortant  question  of  all  pressing  upon  our  attention 
at  the  present  time  is  whether  we  are  to  forsake  the  method  of  stamp- 
ing out  the  disease  by  occision,  and  to  substitute  the  system  of  iuocu- 
lation  as  first  i)racticed  in  Belgium  and  Hollaud,  and  as  revived  in  Scot- 
land under  the  auspices  of  Rutherford  and  Williams,  and  as  sanctioned 
also  by  Fleming  and  others.  This  is  the  more  important  because, 
under  the  advice  and  approval  of  the  Drs.  McLean,  the  board  of  health 
of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  has  allowed  or  autliorized  this  system  in  its 
stables,  and  at  a  point  where  the  disease  has  long  bad  a  foothold.  At 
one  time  Professor  Law  expressed  the  hope  that  the  inoculatiou  method, 
under  some  modifications,  would  be  revived.  In  New  Jersey  the  State 
law  ijermits  inoculation,  under  expert  oversight,  in  a  herd  in  which  there 
has  been  an  outbreak,  if  such  inoculation  is  ordered  or  approved  by 
the  board  of  health.  In  the  last  instance  the  law  was  based  ou  the 
views  of  Rutherford,  AVilliams,  &c.,  and  ou  the  foct  that  the  State 
despaired  of  securing  riddance  of  the  disease,  with  reasonable  expendi- 
tuie,  if  it  must  be  constantly  subjected  thereto  by  the  trausportatiou 
or  driving  of  cattle  from  infected  localities  in  other  States. 

The  details  of  inoculatiou  as  followed  out  in  New  Jersey  are  of  nuich 
interest.  Through  the  influence  and  practice  of  Mr.  Lamerz,  a  German 
veterinarian  of  Newark,  it  has  for  several  years  been  a  custom  with 
dairymen  in  Essex  County,  and  especially  about  Orange,  to  inoculate 
their  herds,  not  only  when  there  was  an  outbreak  among  their  cattle, 
but  as  a  customary  precaution.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  all  who  have 
pursued  this  plan  express  themselves  fully  satisfied  therewith,  and  aver 
that  they  have  never  known  an\'  case  of  the  transmission  of  the  conta- 
gion by  this  means.    While  niucli  of  this  is  negative  testimoay,  aud 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    AMMALS.        263 

may  be  ])artially  set  aside  by  saying  tliat  most  of  them  would  have 
escaped  contagion  without  this,  it  is  yet  worthy  of  record  that  while 
there  have  been  sporadic  cases  of  the  disease  in  Orange  and  adjacent 
localities,  these  have  been  no  more  numerous  than  at  some  other  points. 
For  over  a  year  it  has  been  the  habit  of  the  veterinary  service  of  the 
State  board  of  health  of  Xew  Jersey  to  seek  to  eratlicate  the  disease 
by  slaughter  if  only  one  or  two  cases  had  occurred.  But  if  there  had 
))een  more  extended  seizures  before  notice,  or  if  the  disease  threatened 
to  spread,  resort  has  been  had  to  inocjulation.  Dr.  J.  W.  Ilawlc,  of  New- 
ark, and  Dr.  Leatherman,  of  Clinton,  have  had  occasion  thus  to  inocu- 
late several  herds.  In  about  two  hundred  cases  of  inoculation  they  re- 
l)ort  that  the  results  have  been  altogether  satisfactory.  Herds  have 
been  i)rotected  and  the  disease  limited.  While  a  few  of  the  animals 
have  lost  their  tails,  and  some  have  been  for  a  little  time  quite  sick,  no 
deaths  have  occurred  from  this  cause.  Great  care  has  been  taken  in 
the  selection  of  the  inoculating  juice,  and  it  has  been  generally  intro- 
duced, by  a  seton  of  woolen  yarn,  into  the  muscle  just  beneath  the  skin 
of  the  tail. 

While  thus  feeling  our  way  on  the  basis  of  the  authorities  before  al- 
luded to,  and  by  a  cautious  use  of  the  method  in  general  acceptance,  the 
following  series  of  cases  occurred : 

A  farmer  and  dairyman  having  about  thirty  head  of  animals  in  his 
herd,  and  not  having  and  never  having  had  any  cases  of  contagious 
pleuro  ])neumonia  among  his  cattle,  was  informed  that  two  or  three  of 
his  neighbors  had  the  disi^ase  among  their  herds.  He  was  a  mile  and 
a  half  distant  from  the  nearest  one.  The  cattle  had  not  come  near  to 
each  other  by  neighboring  fields.  He  had  no  occasion  to  take  any  of 
his  cattle  to  other  yards,  or  to  have  any  brought  to  his.  He  had  not 
])urchased  an  animal  for  three  years.  Not  knowing  the  law  of  the 
.State,  he  concluded  to  have  his  cattle  inoculated  by  a  veterinarian  of 
Newark.  His  entire  herd  was  inoculated  in  the  month  of  December, 
One  or  two  of  these  animals  lost  their  rails,  several  were  somewhat  sick 
and  recovered,  and  did  not  contract  pleuro-pnenmonia,  though  after- 
ward exposed.  On  the  tenlh  day  after  the  inoculation  t^YO  calves  had 
convulsions  anddied.  Threeof  the  healthiest  cows  were  taken  severely 
sick  with  all  the  symptoms  of  contagious  pleuro-pneumonia,  and  had  to 
be  slaughtered.  Post-mortem  examination  left  no  doubt  as  to  its  being 
genuine  contagious  pleuro  pneumonia.  Some  of  the  other  cows  did  not 
seem  to  recover  their  usual  health  or  milk  supply.  A  thorough  exam- 
ination four  weeks  later  by  H.  W.  llowland,  D.  Y.  S,  of  Jersey  City,  and 
J.  Gerth,  jr.,  D.  V.  S.,  of  Newark,  showed  conditions  of  lung  that  would 
indicate  nothing  else  than  contagious  pleuro-i)neumonia.  As  the  cows 
were  gaining,  the  owner  was  permitted  to  keep  them,  on  condition  that 
they  should  not  be  sold  until  fit  for  slaughter,  and  then  not  for  any 
other  i)urpose. 

Here  we  have  a  series  of  cases  in  which  either  the  veterinarian  caused 


264  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  disease  to  the  herd  by  person  or  foiiiites,  or  introduced  it  by  inocu- 
lation. If  thi'  latter,  it  woukl  seem  to  support  the  hypothesis  of  some^ 
who,  while  admitting  that  the  introduction  of  the  virus  ino  a  muscle, 
instead  of  by  the  breath  or  into  the  lun<>',  generally  causes  a  milder  dis- 
ease, which  is  protective,  yet  that  occasionally,  under  conditions  not  yet 
known,  it  will  resume  its  malignant  activity  and  light  ui)on  the  organ 
which  seems  to  afford  Hs  chosen  nidus.  It  seems  somewhat  analogous 
to  the  old  facts  as  to  the  inoculation  for  sm  11-pox,  in  which  undoubtedly 
the  introduction  of  the  virus  into  the  skin  or  Hesh  instead  of  into  the  lung 
did  modify  and  mitigate  the  diseas*'.  But  in  this  it  was  a  known  fact 
that  now  and  then  a  strange  exception  wouM  occur,  resulting  in  second- 
ary fever  and  death.  While  single  cases  prove  but  little,  and  the  mind 
must  suspend  its  judgment  until  other  cases  occur,  or  until  the  occur- 
rence is  explained,  it  must  be  confessed  that  these  cases  were  a  re- 
straint upon  what  had  b  fore  seemed  to  us  to  be  legitimate  conclusions. 
The  great  asserted  facts  upon  which  the  more  recent  hopes  as  to  in- 
oculation of  cattle  have  been  predicated  are  (a)  that  the  virus  thus  intro- 
duced never  causes  any  affection  of  the  lung,  and  {b)  that  the  animal 
that  has  been  inoculated  does  not  impart  the  disease  to  others. 

In  view  of  the  immense  interests  involved,  this  Government  should 
institute  a  series  of  experiments  to  settle  this  matter,  and  either  arrive 
at  the  conclusion  that  systematic  and  rational  extinction  of  the  disease 
is  to  be  secured  by  slaughter,  or  define  how  it  can  be  aided  or  secured, 
if  at  all,  by  systems  of  regulated  inoculation.  Since  the  important  ex- 
periments and  deductions  of  Pasteur,  Chauveau,  Touissant,  Koch,  and 
many  others,  it  seems  almost  imperative  that,  this  Government  should, 
by  systematized  methods  of  histology,  pathology,  and  laboratory  inves- 
tigations, aud  by  the  experience  of  skilled  observers,  determine  the 
means  of  checking  those  marauding  epizootics  that  imperil  the  health 
and  life  of  so  many  millions  of  animals  of  various  species,  and  with  it 
imperil  the  industrial  interests  of  all  classes  and  the  very  life  and 
health  of  a  race  so  dependent  on  good  meat  and  good  milk  for  food. 

FOOT  AND-MOUTH   DISEASE. 

We  are  fortunately  dependent  on  foreign  authorities  for  the  most 
accurate  descriptions  of  this  disease.  Unlike  pleuro-pueumonia,  it  is 
readily  communicable  "to  sheep,  goats,  swine,  and  i^oultry;  it  is  easily 
transmitted  to  the  human  subject.  It  has  been  described  as  existing 
in  the  horse,  dog,  wild  fowl,  deer,  wild  boar,  cat,  «Sic."  The  milk  of 
animals  in  many  cases  seems  to  have  conveyed  the  disease  to  man,  al- 
though some  regard  this  as  having  occurred  only  when  there  were  vesi- 
cles upon  the  udder  or  teats,  the  secretions  from  which  had  mingled 
with  the  milk.  (Walley,  Edinburgh,  1870.)  The  same  author  also 
speaks  of  it  as  "one  of  the  most  infectious  and  contagious  maladies 
which  affect  domestic  animals,  and  the  easiest  of  transmission,"  and  as 
remarkable  "in  the  effect  which  the  milk  of  animals   affected  with  it 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        265 

produces  on  their  youug  and  even  the  youug  of  other  species."  Because 
of  its  rapid  and  diffusive  contagion,  and  of  the  fact  that  one  attack  does 
not  protect  from  another,  that  both  the  meat  and  milk  supply  are 
jeopardized  thereby,  it  is  probable  that  its  actual  losses  to  food  products 
are  greater  tlian  that  of  any  of  these  pervasive  plagues.  Recently  J. 
W.  Stickler,  M.  D.,  of  Orange,  N.  J.,  a  physician  who  had  become  inter- 
ested in  the  disease  only  because  of  its  comparative  relations  and  its 
partial  similarity  to  certain  aphthous  diseases  of  chiklren,  procured  from 
Professor  Williams,  of  Edinburgh,  some  of  the  virus  of  the  disease, 
and  inoculated  some  calves  therewith.  The  saliva  was  taken  from  a 
cow  affected  with  the  foot-and mouth  disease,  and  i)ut  into  glycerine 
tightly  corked  in  a  bottle,  and  immediately  forwarded  to  the  doctor.  In 
a  recent  note  to  the  writer,  Dr.  Stickler  says: 

The  history  of  this  case  is  as  follows  :  Alderney  calf,  two  and  one-half  weeks  old  ; 
before  inoculation  seemed  perfectly  well ;  visible  raucous  membranes  free  from  any 
eruption  and  discharge  ;  skin  and  interdigital  spaces  normal  in  appearance.  I  in- 
oculated the  animal  by  subcutaneous  iujeetion  of  the  virus  just  posterior  to  the  elbow 
joint  and  anterior  to  the  stifle.  Nothing  at  all  positive  developed  till  .January  2, 
when  the  temperature  rose  to  104°. 8  Fah.  There  w^as  a  discharge  of  quite  tenacious 
mucus  from  the  nostrils,  and  at  various  points  upon  the  mucous  membrane  of  each 
there  were  sitiall  j)apul;e.  The  mouth  was  hot  and  red,  although  there  were  no  dis- 
tinct ulcers  or  aphtha^.  The  nearest  approach  to  an  ulcer  was  an  apparent  thinning 
of  the  mucous  membrane  at  one  or  two  points.  The  saliva  seemed  to  be  increased 
somewhat  in  quantity.  The  bowels  were  loose.  A  microscopic  examination  of  the 
blood  showed  the  existence  of  small  round  or  oval  bodies  of  a  faint  port- wine  color. 
They  had  an  activity  which,  I  think,  was  independent  of  that  caused  by  any  motion 
of  the  blood  plasma.  To  determine  this  point,  I  was  careful  to  place  upon  the  glass 
slide  ouly  a  drop  of  blood,  adjusting  the  cover  glass  with  sutlficient  firmness  to  cause 
an  even  dispersion  of  the  fluid.  I  then  noticed  that  these  little  bodies  seemed  to  have 
the  power  to  move  in  various  directions.  The  saliva  and  nasal  discharge  contained 
the  monads  spoken  of  in  the  various  works  upon  "  cattle  diseases."  I  aui  not  aware, 
however,  that  attention  has  been  called  to  the  existence  of  small,  active  bodies  in  the 
blood  of  animals  afl"ected  with  "foot-and-mouth"  disease.  The  feet  now  became 
slightly  reddened,  but  showed  no  blebs  or  ulcerations.  There  was  also  a  little  swell- 
ing just  above  the  hoofs.  The  condition  of  the  calf  remained  essentially  as  just  given 
till  .January  10,  when  the  feet  became  swollen  to  a  marked  degree  and  the  redness 
more  pronounced.  In  the  interdigital  spaces  the  skin  was  found  to  be  loosened  from 
its  attachment,  although  there  was  no  fluid  to  be  seen.  There  was  but  little  heat  of 
coronets.  The  back  of  the  animal  was  arched.  The  redness  of  the  feet  became  more 
intrnse,  the  hair  coming  ort,  leaving  quite  large  areas  of  uncovered  red  integument. 
The  bowels  again  became  loose,  the  animal  feeding  iusutificieutly,  till,  finally,  on 
January  17,  it  died. 

As  seen  by  us  the  disease  was  in  its  subacute  stages.  One  calf  had 
just  died  of  it.  When  the  vesicles  break,  the  red  or  scarlet  surface 
becomes  covered  with  a  secretion,  but  shows  little  tendency  to  return 
to  its  normal  condition.  The  emaciation  of  animals  is  rapid,  both  from 
the  disease  itself  and  the  interference  with  feeding,  which  it  causes. 

We  do  not  know  of  other  experiments  with  the  virus  in  this  country. 
It  is  very  certain  that  the  most  scrupulous  vigilance  should  be  exercised 
as  to  the  disease,  and  that  it  should  never  be  allowed  to  obtain  a  foot- 
hold here.     There  is  iio  disease  against  which  the  veterinary  inspector 


"266  CONTAGIOT'S    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICANED    ANIMALS. 

ill  England  wutclies  with  greater  care.  Our  system  of  large  lierds  and 
<3attle  ranches  has  no  parallel  in  the  cattle  culture  of  the  United  King- 
dom. Its  spread  here  would,  if  it  should  get  full  headway,  compare 
with  that  abroad  as  does  the  sweeping  tire  of  the  prairie  with  that  of  a 
city  block,  where  the  provisions  for  extinguishment  are  ready  to  the 
hand.  Well  may  all  owners  of  cattle  urge  the  National  Government  to 
exercise  its  preventive  discipline  over  importation  and  all  movements 
of  cattle  from  the  seaboard,  all  the  more  because  recently  a  new  demand 
has  sprung'  up  in  the  West  for  young  stock  from  the  East.  The  transpor- 
tation which  has  heretofore  been  toward  the  seaboard  is  now  likely  to 
be  met  by  a  counter-current  to  be  inland  west,  since  the  stock-breeding- 
there  does  uot  supply  the  demands  which  the  fields  of  space  in  the  mid- 
dle land  between  the  oceans  provides  for  the  feeding  and  fattening  of 
young  cattle. 

We  scarcely  need  to  emphasize  the  application  of  the  same  precau- 
tions as  to  those  diseases  of  swine  and  sheep  which  are  equally  de- 
structive to  these  smaller  flocks,  and  which  alike  imi)eril  interests  in 
which  large  cai)ital  and  great  commercial  enterprises  are  involved. 
The  census  of  1880  gives  as  for  the  United  States  10,.'i57,488  horses, 
1,812,808  mules  and  asses,  12,443,120  milch  cows,  90;3,841  work  oxen, 
22,488,550  other  cattle,  35,192,074  sheep,  and  47,081,700  swine,  or  an 
aggregate  of,  or  about,  331,000,000  In  all.  When  we  consider  that  the 
yearly  increase  is  constant,  we  ought  not  to  need  extended  argument  to 
show  that  the  sums  expended  in  competent  investigation  and  in  skilled 
oversight  of  these  iuterests,  if  honestly  and  intelligently  expended,  is 
among  the  very  best  investments  the  General  Government  can  make. 
Perhaps  the  lack  at  present  is  more  in  competency  of  observation  and 
in  tried  and  successful  methods  of  protection  than  in  a  recognition  of 
the  desirability  of  such  oversight.  But  as  a  demand  creates  a  supply 
we  are  already  seeing  Harvard  University  and  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania with  veterinary  departments,  Toronto  and  Xew  York  with 
worthy  veterinary  colleges,  and  the  American  Public  Health  Associa- 
tion giving  it  prominent  consideration,  the  medical  profession  alive  to  its 
im])ortance  and  co-operating  here  with  something  of  the  same  spirit 
and  ability  with  which  in  England  the  foremost  member  of  the  Eoyal 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  is  found  conducting  and  aiding  in 
investigations  of  a  similar  kind. 

It  is  only  by  a  combined  and  continued  system  of  surveillance  that 
we  can  hope  to  prevent  or  arrest  the  wandering  epizootic  pi  stilence  or 
those  enzootics  which  spring  up  in  locnlities  and  are  dependent  upon 
causes  which,  although  difficult  of  detection,  are,  in  the  light  of  the  past 
few  years,  likely  soon  to  be  unraveled.  By  such  a  course,  and  by  put- 
ting-on  record  the  facts  and  experience  obtained  by  skilled  local  observ- 
ers, we  shall  succeed  in  arresting-  or  abating  many  of  the  vagrant 
diseases,  and  thus  greatly  appreciate  both  the  wealth,  the  comfort,  and 
the  health  of  our  peojile,  and  be  able  to  furnish  the  markets  of  the  Old 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        2G7 

'^Yol•l(l  witli  a  surplus  meat   supply  excellent  in  quality  and  abundant 
in  quantity. 

GLANDERS    AND    FARCY. 

The  disease  known  as  glanders  or  farcy  is  so  insidious  in  its  character 
as  to  need  most  c  ireful  inquiry  and  inspection  on  the  part  of  local,  State, 
and  national  authorities.  Unless  large  powers  are  given,  the  laws  will 
be  evaded  and  the  disease  perpetuated.  This  has  been  signally  illus- 
trated iu  a  series  of  cases  that  have  occurred  in  the  South  Orange  car 
stables,  in  Newark,  during  the  last  year.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  over  a  year  since  a  case  of  glanders  occurred  in  those  stables,  which 
was  claimed  to  have  been  cured.  About  August  1,  1883,  the  attention 
of  the  local  boards  of  South  Orange  and  Newark,  and  of  the  State,  was 
called  thereto  tlirough  a  legal  ])rocess  of  inquiry.  The  disease  was  found 
so  extensive  that  about  sixty  head  of  horses  had  to  be  killed.  Not  long 
After  the  veterinarian  in  charge.  Dr.  J.  W.  Hawk,  of  Newark,  condemned 
three  more.  The  owner  consented  at  once  to  their  destruction.  There 
was  delay  as  to  one,  which  had  the  least  external  manifestation,  and 
during  the  delay  the  owner,  under  unfortunate  rival  advice,  concluded 
that  the  animal  was  sound.  Afterward  the  certificate  of  the  veterina- 
rian was  given  to  that  effect.  The  State  board  of  health  and  its  vet- 
erinarian were  refused  entrance  to  the  stable.  Owing  to  alleged  or  pos- 
sible defects  in  the  law  a  new  one  was  passed.  It  was  not,  therefore, 
until  April  that  the  board  was  again  able  to  secure  undisputed  entry. 
On  the  first  visit  this  horse  was  found  with  symptoms  of  glanders,  and 
a  'postmortem  examiiuition  fully  attested  the  former  diagnosis.  There 
were  other  suspicious  cases,  and  it  was  found  necessary  soon  afrer  to 
condemn  two  more.  The  disease  is  now  in  such  a  chronic,  and  in  some 
cases  proba  I3'  iu  euch  a  concealed  form,  that  it  is  claimed  by  some  that 
nothing  short  of  a  destruction  of  all  the  livestock  and  the  buildings  will 
eradicate  it.  Occasional  c  ises  are  now  occurring  in  other  parts  of  the 
city.  The  whole  history  of  these  cases  illustrates  the  persistent  infec- 
tion of  the  malady,  and  shows  liow  delay  by  the  interposition  of  legal 
obstacles  may  result  in  entailing  upon  an  entire  city  the  continuance  of 
a  disease  whicli  could  have  been  eradicated  iu  the  start. 

As  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  possibility  of  the 
spontaneous  development  of  glanders  in  stables  where  horses  are  over- 
worked or  illy  kept,  it  seems  very  desirable  that  the  General  Govern- 
ment should  institute  a  series  of  experiments  and  investigations  for  the 
purpose  of  determining  this  point.  The  disease  is  of  a  verj-  threaten- 
ing character  to  the  great  industries  which  so  mucli  depeiul  on  this 
class  of  animals.  As,  too,  it  is  admitted  that  stables  which  have  con- 
tained affectt'd  horses,  and  all  the  harness  used  come  to  be  fomites  or 
foci  of  communication,  there  is  need  of  the  most  precise  directions  as  to 
the  choice  of  disinfectants  and  their  accurate  and  successful  use.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  this  (;an  be  left  to  owners  or  even  to  the  ji'eneral  vet- 


268  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.. 

erinarian.  It  is  better  rather  to  commit  it  to  those  who  understaud  all 
the  details  of  fumij^ation,  inhalation,  and  the  washing  and  saturation 
of  all  ex])osed  surroundings  and  material. 

Onr  experiences  in  this  State  for  the  past  year  with  pleuro  pneumonia^ 
glanders,  and  iiog  cholera  are  sufficient  to  emphasize  the  immense  im- 
portance of  close  investigation  of  all  contagious  animal  diseases  by  the 
General  Government.  There  is  need  not  merely  of  hurried  inquiry  into 
alleged  outbreaks  of  contagions,  and  the  rapid  application  of  methods 
of  isolation,  destruction,  or  quarantine,  but  of  scieutiflc  and  laboratory 
investigations  and  such  skilled  observations  and  experiences  as  will 
prevent  their  occurrence.  The  uotable  results  that  have  already  oc- 
curred from  the  combined  inquiry  and  insight  of  medical  and  veteri- 
nary experts  into  the  general  development  and  life-history  of  these  ma- 
rauding pestilences,  is  enough  to  assure  us  that  our  neglect  Avill  be 
culpable,  if  we  fail  to  protect  our  great  commercial  and  industrial  inter- 
ests by  saving  as  far  as  possible  the  live-stock  of  our  country  from  inva- 
sions as  disastrous  as  those  of  pestilence  and  famine. 


TRICHINIASIS. 


[The  following  article  ou  TrichinfP  and  Trichiniasis  was  contributed  by  Dr.  D.  E.  Salmon,  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Animal  Inrtustrj',  to  the  report  of  the  Commission,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  appointed 
by  the  President  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  swiue  imlustry,  and  the  pork  product  of  the  ■ 
United  States.     It  embraces  the  researches  which  have  been  made  in  regard  to  this  subject  up  to 
this  time. J 

EXTENT   OF   TRICHINIASIS   IN  AMEKICA   AND   EUROPE. 

This  subject  being,  in  tbe  present  attitude  of  certain  foreign  Govern- 
ments  in  regard  to  American  pork  products,  tbe  most  important  of  all  tbe 
questions  tbat  have  received  our  attention,  we  have  given  it  a  very  care- 
ful consideration.  The  alleged  frequency  of  tricbiuiasis  in  American 
bogs  has  been  the  reason  insisted  upon  by  tbe  various  countries  which 
have  prohibited  the  importation  of  such  products;  for,  while  it  is  true 
that  other  objections  have  been  advanced,  particularly  in  France,  none 
of  these  have  sufficient  foundation  in  fact  to  stand  the  test  of  even  a 
superficial  examination.  It  is,  however,  not  a  question  of  the  preva- 
lence of  trichiniasis  here  and  its  absence  in  other  countries,  since  this 
parasite  has  been  found  infecting  tbe  hogs  and  other  tiesh-eatiiig  an- 
imals in  the  most  widely  separated  portious  of  the  earth.  Dr.  Mausou 
examined  2.55  specimens  of  Ciiiuese  pork  and  found  2  or  nearly  1 
per  cent,  infected.*  Dr.  Wartable  has  described  epidemics  near  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan  resulting  from  eating  the  tiesb  of  the  wild  boar,t 
and  in  every  European  country  in  which  inspections  have  been  made 
a  very  considerable  })roportion  of  tricbinous  animals  have  been  dis- 
covered. 

Certain  writers  have  pretended  that  tbe  animals  of  France  have  never 
been  affected  with  trichiuiasis,|  but  this  conclusion  seems  to  have  been 
reached  without  any  investigations.  A  large  ])roi)ortion  of  the  rats  of 
Paris  were  long  since  found  to  be  infected, §  and  in  1879  a  serious  epi- 
demicof  trichiniasis, knownas  thatofCrepy-enValois, occurred,  in  which 
sixteen  persons  sickened  from  eating  the  tiesb  of  a  native  animal. || 

That  trichin.e  also  exist  in  America  and  infest  a  small  proportion  of 
American  hogs  is  a  fact  that  must  be  admitted,  but  it  is  a  more  diffi- 
cult matter  to  compare  the  frequency  of  American  and  European  infec- 


*Iaip.  Customs.  Med.  Report,  Sliangluii,  XXI  (1881),  p.  2«. 

+  Laiicet,  August  4,  1883. 

t  J.  Chatin  :  La  trichine  ct  la  trichinoso. 

$  Davaine:  Traitd  <lcs  entozoaires,  &c.,  p.  755. 

II  Gazette  des  H6pitaux,  Februarv  "20,  1879. 

am 


270  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

tiou  thau  lias  usually  been  supposed.  American  hogs  liave  usually 
been  examined  by  microscopists  who  were  competent  to  do  the  work 
and  who  would  not  overlook  a  single  case,  while  in  Germany  there  has 
been  an  immense  number  of  insi)ectors  employed  (18,581  in  1881),  many 
of  whom  were  utterly  incompetent.  An  examination  in  1877  showed  that 
many  of  the  microscopes  were  useless,  that  glasses  used  were  too  dirty 
to  permit  the  examination,  and  that  some  of  the  ins[)ectors  were  incapa- 
ble of  detecting  the  parasite.*  E\eu  as  late  as  1881  there  were  com- 
plaints iu  regard  to  the  incompetency  of  inspectors,  and  the  continued 
recurrence  of  tricbiniasis  among  people  from  eating  inspected  meats 
demonstrates  that  these  complaints  were  not  made  without  reason. t 
Even  the  German  inspections  of  American  meats  cannot  be  taken  as  a 
fair  comparison  with  the  average  of  their  inspections  of  indigenous 
animals,  for  the  reason  that  our  meats  are  examined  in  their  larger  cities 
and  by  their  most  competent  inspectors.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to- 
bear  these  facts  iu  mind,  iu  considering  the  figures  which  are  given  as 
representing  the  results  of  the  microscopic  examination  of  American 
and  European  pork. 

PROPORTION   OF   AMERICAN   HOGS   INFECTED   WITH    TRICHINIASIS. 

The  hogs  in  Dearborn  County,  Indiana,  seem  to  be  infected  iu  a  larger'- 
proportion  than  anywhere  else  in  the  country,  or  at  least  were  in  1874. 
Drs.  Harding  and  Robbins  examined  245  animals  slaughtered  near 
Lawrenceburg-,  and  found  that  40,  or  IG^  per  cent.,  contained  this  para- 
site. This  seems  to  be  far  beyond  the  average,  however,  even  in  this- 
center  of  infection,  for  Drs.  Gatch  and  Miller  examined  200  animals  at 
the  same  place  and  only  found  13  infected,  or  0.5  per  cent.| 

In  1806  Belfield  and  Atwood  are  reported  to  have  found  2  per  cent, 
of  the  hogs  slaughtered  in  Chicago  infected,  and  in  1878  an  examination 
of  100  animals  at  the  same  place  indicated  that  8  per  cent,  contained 
trichina'. 

From  1879  to  1881  Dr.  F.  S.  Billings,  of  Boston,  examined  8,773  hogs^ 
of  which  347,  or  4  per  cent.,  were  rei)orted  as  containing  trichina'. 

Dr.  Deveron,  of  New  Orleans,  inspected  5,400  hogs  in  1881,  of  which 
only  22,  or  0.4  per  cent.,  were  trichinous.§  Of  these  animals  529  came 
from  Saint  Louis,  and  among  them  were  18  infected  ones,  being  3.4  per 
cent.;  241  came  from  Louisville,  and  2  of  these,  or  0.83  per  cent.,  con- 
tained trichina^ ;  484  from  unknown  parts  of  the  West,  had  but  2  in- 
fected, or  0.4  per  cent.,  while  the  remaining  4,140,  mostl,y  from  the  South, 
were  free  from  this  parasite. 

Dr.  C.  A.  Simpson  examined  30  hogs  at  Atlanta,  which  were  mostly 

-Viertel.jabrschrift  f.  Ger.,  Med.,  &c.,  N.  F.  XXX,  p.  175-181. 
tLoc.  cit.  XXXVII,  p.  345-351. 

t  A  Report  on  Tricbiniasis  as  observed  in  Dearborn  Co.,  Indiana,  in  1874.  By  George 
Sutton,  M.  D.,  Aurora,  lud. 

§  Report  of  American  Healtb  Assoc.,  vol.  7,  p.  136. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        271 

from  Tennessee,  without  finding  any  infected,  and  Dr.  E.  W.  Steger  ex- 
amined 180  tit  Xasbville,  Teun.,  all  of  which  were  also  free.  Dr.  William 
Myers  examined  330  hogs  at  Sau  Antonio,  Tex.,  finding  trichinie  in  but 
2,  or  0.6  per  cent.* 

Dr.  H.  J.  Detmers  has  examined  from  August  to  December,  1883,  for 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  3,331  at  Chicago;  of  which  80,  or  2.4 
per  cent.,  were  found  to  be  infected.  Of  this  number  ],12(J  were  from 
unknown  districts  of  the  West;  46,  or  4.08  per  cent.,  containing  tri- 
chinae; 50  were  from  Michigan,  among  which  4  contained  the  parasite; 
831  were  from  Iowa,  of  which  10,  or  2.27  per  cent,,  were  infected;  50 
were  from  Dakota,  of  which  1  was  infected ;  520  were  from  Illinois, 
among  which  were  7,  or  1.35  per  cent.,  containing  trichinte ;  304  were 
from  Wisconsin,  with  but  2  infected,  or  O.GO  per  cent.;  350  came  from 
Nebraska,  having  but  1  infected,  or  0.28  per  cent.;  100  were  from  Min- 
nesotii,  and  were  free  from  infection. 

In  the  laboratory  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  specimens  from 
300  hogs  have  recently  been  examined,  and  of  these  5,  or  1.66  per  cent.,^ 
were  found  to  contain  this  parasite. 

We  have  above  the  records  of  the  examination  of  18,8S9  hogs  from 
various  parts  of  the  United  States,  of  which  517,  or  2.7  per  cent.,  con- 
tained trichin;e.  It  is  evident  from  these  records  that  a  considerable 
l)r()p()rtion  of  the  hogs  from  some  sections  of  the  country  are  trichinous, 
while  those  from  other  sections  are  practically  free  from  infection. 
While  it  may  be  difficult  to  outline  the  trichiuiB  districts  and  to  trace 
the  infected  anim;ils  to  the  farms  on  which  thej'  were  raised,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  such  a  study  would  do  much  to  clear  up  the  origin  of  tliia 
infliction. 

In  addition  to  the  inspections  detailed  above,  Dra.  Osier  and  Clement 
examined  at  Montreal  1,000  hogs  tVom  Western  Canada,  fiiuling  4  in- 
fected.t  The  French  inspectors  report  the  examination  of  103,528  pieces 
of  American  meat,  containing  2,080,  or  about  2  per  cent.,  infected,  t  The 
German  insi)ectors,  during  the  year  1880,  examined  78,880  pieces  o 
American  pork,  of  which  we  have  record,  and  found  1,265,  or  1.6  jjer 
cent.,  to  contain  trichnse;  and  in  1881  they  examined  96,485  pieces,  find- 
ing trichina'  in  2,414,  or  2.5  per  cent.  § 

Taking  all  the  examinations  of  American  pork  thus  far  made,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  we  have  a  total  of  298,782,  during  which  trichinae 
were  found  6,280  times,  being  2.1  per  cent.,  or  1  to  48. 

It  would  seem  that  this  number  of  pieces,  considering  the  close  agree- 
ment between  the  results  reached  by  American  microscopiscs  over  this 
limited  territory  and  those  obtained  by  the  inspectors  of  American  pork 

*  Report  of  American  Health  Assoc,  vol.  7,  p.  13^-145. 

+  Aii  Iiivesti<;ati()ii  into  the  Parasite  in  the  I'oriv  Supply  of  Montreal,  1863,  page  (5. 
{Cliatin,  La  Trichine  et  hi  Trichinose,  Paris,  ld83,  page  217. 

vS  II.  Eulenberg.  Ueber  die  iui  Jahre,  1881,  auf  Trichinen  uud  Fiunen  uuter.suchteu 
Schweinc.     Viertel.jahrsehrifr,  f.  Gar.  Med.,  &c.,  1882. 


272  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

ill  Europe,  perhaps  represents  the  condition  of  American  pork  so  far  as 
examined. 

In  Europe  there  are  some  localities  where  the  inspections  have  shown 
a  greater  i)roi)ortion  of  infection  than  the  average  in  the  United  States. 
At  Stockholm  2,000  hogs  contained  58  infected  ones,  or  2.9  per  cent.; 
at  Tannefors  300  hogs  contained  10  infected  ones,  or  3.3  per  cent. ;  and 
in  112  Bavarian  liams  3  were  trichinous,*  while  Dr.  Rine,  of  Linten,  re- 
ported 4  infected  animals  in  45,  or  nearly  9  per  cent. t  In  Prussia, 
where  the  only  really  effective  inspection  is  made,  the  proportion  found 
infected  with  trichinfe  was,  in  1876,  1  to  2,000;  in  1877,  1  to  2,800;  in 
1878,1  to  2,000;  in  1879,  1  to  1,632;  in  1880,1  to  1,460;  in  1881,  1  to  1,839; 
in  1882,  1  to  2,056  |  The  number  of  inspectors  in  1882  is  placed  at 
20,140.  Several  inspectors  at  Erfurt  were  removed  on  account  of  in- 
capacity, and  complaints  were  made  as  to  the  condition  of  the  micro- 
scopes. Indeed,  it  seems  that  the  village  barber  is  usually  trusted  with 
the  inspection  of  hogs  in  the  smaller  towns  and  villages,  and  that  he  is 
required  to  make  but  three  preparations  from  each  animal. 

Frequently,  or  generally,  the  specimens  for  examination  are  taken 
from  the  hams  and  hard  muscles,  where  the  trichinjB  are  least  abundant, 
instead  of  from  the  pillars  of  the  diaphragm  and  tenderloin,  where  they 
are  most  easily  found.  Since  the  great  epidemic  of  trichiniasis  in  Sax- 
ony it  seems  to  be  admitted  that  these  inspections  are  totally  inade- 
quate, and  in  order  to  make  them  more  efficient  the  magistrates  have 
awarded  sums  varying  from  15  to  30  marks  for  each  trichinous  animal 
discovered.  As  a  result  of  the  rewards,  and  possibly  of  the  fear  ex- 
cited by  the  recent  terrible  outbreaks  of  the  disease  in  people,  an  in- 
creased number  of  infected  hogs  seem  to  have  been  discovered.  §  These 
facts,  as  well  as  the  extraordinary  number  of  people  recently  infected 
from  eating  pork  which  had  been  inspected,  are  sufficient  to  demonstrate 
that  large  numbers  of  trichinous  hogs  pass  the  inspectors  without  being- 
discovered,  and  that  consequently  the  figures  given  above  are  not  a 
correct  representation  of  the  proportion  of  hogs  which  are  infested  with 
this  parasite. 

In  nearly  every  country  of  Europe  hogs  have  been  examined  and  a 
certain  number  found  to  contain  trichina;,  but  the  records  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  carefully  kept ;  the  data  are  not  fully  given,  and  there  is 
reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  work.  It  is  difficult,  therefore,  to 
reach  any  satisfactory  conclusion  as  to  the  proportion  of  infected  hogs. 
We  may  safely  assert,  however,  that  no  country  can  with  reason  claim 
that  its  hogs  are  free  from  trichinae,  while  the  probability  is  that  Eu- 

*  Warfwinge,  Nord.  Med.  Ark.,  1875,  VII,  3,  No.  18. 

tMeissner,  Schmidt's  .Jabrbiicher,  No.  130,  page  118.  Quoted  by  Glazier  Rep., 
page  6b. 

t  H.  Eulenberg,  Vierteljahrschrift  f.  Ger.  Med.,  1877  to  1883. 

$  Dispatches  of  A.  A.  Sargcut,  American  minister  at  Berlin,  to  State  Department, 
dated  October  26  and  November  12. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOxMESTICATED    ANIMALS.         273 

ropean  hogs  generally  are  infected  in  a  much  larger  proportion  than  is 
at  present  admitted. 

In  some  parts  of  Europe  rats  seem  to  have  been  examined  more  care- 
fully than  pigs  ;  thus  in  Saxony  one-half  of  the  rats  from  flayers  con- 
tain trichinte,  and  20  per  cent,  of  all  those  caught  are  similarly  infected; 
in  Moravia  sixteen  out  of  one  lot  of  twenty  rats  were  infected,  nine  of 
a  second  lot  of  twelve  were  infected,  seven  of  a  third  lot  of  eight  were 
infected.  In  Klederling,  a  suburb  of  Vienna,  seven  out  of  forty-seven, 
and  at  Untermeidling  two  out  of  thirty-one  were  infected.*  In  France, 
where  the  authorities  now  deny  the  existence  of  trichinie]except  as  im- 
ported, and  where  one  of  the  reasons  for  prohibiting  American  pork  is 
the  alleged  fear  of  scattering  this  parasite  over  the  country ,t  the  only 
outbreak  of  trichiniasis  on  record  was  caused  by  the  flesh  of  a  native 
hog ;  and  the  rats  from  the  ditches  and  sewers  of  Paris,  examined  by 
Drs.  Gou jon  and  Legros,  were  infected  in  very  large  proi^ortion ;  one 
lot  of  thirty-two  contained  three  with  trichinae,  and  of  seventy-two  rats, 
five  were  full  of  these  parasites.| 

EFFECT   OF   THE   CURING  PROCESS   ON   THE   TRICHINAE. 

If  we  adnjit  that  about  2  per  cent,  of  American  hogs  contain  trichi- 
nae, it  becomes  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  for  us  to  inquire 
into  the  condition  of  the  parasite  after  it  has  been  subjected  to  the  ac- 
tion of  salt  a  sufficient  time  to  enable  the  pork  to  be  carried  from  the 
packing-houses  in  this  country  to  the  consumers  abroad.  And  here  the 
effect  on  the  consumers  is  entitled  to  more  weight  as  a  matter  of  evidence 
than  those  scientific  experiments  which  are  simply  designed  to  prove  the 
life  of  the  parasite;  for  the  trichina  may  sometimes  still  l)e  living  but 
not  have  sufficient  vitality  to  develop  and  reproduce  itself.  Such  trichi- 
nae would  be  perfectly  harmless  even  though  the  pork  were  eaten  with- 
out previous  cooking. 

In  France  it  is  said  in  the  report  of  Academy  of  Medicine  of  Paris, 
that  95,000,000  kilograms  or  200,000,000  pounds  of  American  pork  pro- 
ducts had  been  consumed  from  1870  to  1S81  without  causing  a  single 
case  of  disease.  And  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  large  quantities  of 
such  pork  have  been  consumed  for  a  number  of  years,  the  one  outbreak 
of  trichiniasis  at  Crepy,  which  was  clearly  traced  to  a  French  hog,  is 
the  only  instance  of  the  appearance  of  this  disease  among  people  that 
is  recorded  in  that  country. 

In  Germany,  where  it  is  the  habit  of  the  people  to  eat  pork  without 
cooking,  trichiniasis  among  people  is  common,  and  it  has  been  very 
frequently  asserted  in  some  quarters  that  many  of  these  cases  were  due 
to  American  pork.  During  the  recent  terrible  epidemic  at  Emersleben 
and  neigiiboring  towns,  Ur.  Brouardel,  of  the  Paris  Academy  of  Medi- 


*  Dr.  Glazier,  Report  on  Trichinaj  and  Trichiniasis,  Washington,  1881. 
tj.  ChaTiii,  Trichino  et  Trichinose,  p.  15:5,  foot-note. 
{Tht'se  <le  Paris,  ldi56,  au'l  Davaiuo,  Tniit<5  clos  Eutozoaires,  p.  755. 
5751   D   A 18 


274         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

cine,  went  to  Prussia  to  investigate  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  disease 
and  learn  what  he  coakl  in  regard  to  the  healthfuluess  of  American 
pork,  ^ot  only  did  he  find  that  these  particular  cases  of  trichiniasis 
were  due  to  German  hogs,  but  such  eminent  and  well-known  authori- 
ties as  Professors  Yirchow  and  Hertwig,  who  have  charge  of  the  pork  in- 
spection at  Berlin,  asserted  most  ])ositively  that  no  case  of  trichiniasis  in 
Germany  had  ever  been  clearly  traced  to  American  jjork,  although  the 
l^eople,  as  is  their  habit,  persist  in  eating  it  raw.* 

The  so-called  outbreak  of  trichiniasis  on  board  the  English  reforma- 
tory school-ship  Cornwall  has  been  much  quoted  as  illustrating  the 
danger  of  American  salted  pork,  but  when  closely  investigated  it  jiroves 
to  be  an  illustration  of  jumping  at  conclusions  without  evidence,  as  al- 
ways seems  to  have  been  the  case  where  trichiniasis  has  been  attributed 
to  our  meats.  This  outbreak  of  disease  occurred  between  September 
"23  and  October  23,  1879,  and  forty-three  boys  were  attacked  out  of  a' 
total  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  boys  and  fifteen  officers  on  the  ship. 
The  idea  that  tbe  disease  was  trichiniasis  seems  to  have  been  an  after- 
thought, for  the  only  examination  made  was  of  the  body  of  one  of  the 
boys  two  months  after  it  had  been  buried.  Doctors  Powell  and  Cory 
thought  they  found  trichiusB  in  the  muscles,  and  concluded  the  disease 
must  have  originated  from  the  American  pork,  which  was  used  on  board 
the  ship;  but  no  examination  of  this  pork  appears  to  have  been  made, 
and  we  are  not  at  all  certain  that  English  pork  was  not  used  as  well. 
Fortunately,  specimens  taken  from  the  corpse  were  submitted  for  ex- 
amination to  that  well-known  scientist.  Dr.  Charlton  Bastian,  and  he 
pronounced  the  worms  not  trichinae  at  all,  but  a  hitherto  unknown  uem- 
atoid,  which  he  classed  with  the  genus  Pelodera,  calling  the  species 
Felodera  setigera.  Dr.  Cobbold,  who  is  one  of  the  very  best  authorities 
on  this  subject,  asserts  very  positively'  that  the  worm  was  the  Pelodera 
teres,  and  had  probably  invaded  the  body  after  death.!  As  this  worm 
has  never  been  known  to  exist  as  a  parasite  in  the  hog,  the  assumption 
that  the  disease  was  produced  by  eating  pork  is  an  entirely  gratuitous 
one,  and  the  further  assumption  that  it  was  due  to  the  American  pork 
is  evidently  without  the  least  foundation.| 

England  has  been  one  of  the  largest  consumers  of  American  bacon, 
hams,  and  pork,  taking  even  in  1880  and  1881,  when  this  trade  reached 
its  largest  proportions  abroad,  five  times  as  much  as  either  France  or 
Germany.  Belgium  has  also  been  a  large  consumer.  The  Gomite  con- 
sultatif  d?hygiene  puhlique  de  France  said  in  a  recent  oflicial  report  that 
in  order  to  determine  the  danger  from  the  use  of  American  pork  the}' 
had  recently  made  new  inquiries  in  England  and  Belgium.  In  England 
they  were  told  that  trichiniasis  was  so  completely  unknown  that  it  was 

*  P.  Brouardel,  L'Epiddniie  de  tricliiuose  d'Ermesleben.  Bui.  de I'Acad.  de M6d., Paris, 
1883,  p.  1501. 

tVeteriuarian,  1884,  p.  4. 

t  Power,  W.  H.  Outbreak  of  Fever  proved  to  be  Tricliiuiasis  on  board  Reformatory 
School-ship  Coruwall.     Rep.  Med.  Off.  Local  Gov.  Bd.,  1879.     Loudou,  1880. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS,        275 

never  mentioned,  either  in  the  newspapers,  the  hospitals,  or  in  teaching- 
medicine.     And  this  was  also  the  case  in  Belgium.* 

We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  notwithstanding  the  enormous  quan- 
tity of  American  pork  which  has  been  consumed  in  Europe,  there  is  no 
reliable  evidence  that  any  cases  of  trichiniasis  have  ever  originated  from 
its  use. 

We  can  now  consider  more  intelligently  the  conflicting  testimony  in 
regard  to  the  condition  of  the  trichinae  in  American  salted  meats  when 
they  reach  Europe.  In  1879  it  was  stated  in  the  German  reports  that 
althougli  a  very  considerable  number  of  examinations  had  been  made 
at  Miuden,  no  living  trichiuiie  had  been  demonstrated  in  preparations  of 
American  pork.f  This  statement  was  repeated  in  1880  by  the  same  au- 
thority.!: In  France,  Colin  and  most  others  who  have  experimented 
with  the  trichini©  of  American  meats  have  found  them  dead  and  inca- 
pable of  producing  any  injurious  effects  when  fed  to  other  animals.  It 
was  also  found  that  even  slight  salting  killed  all  the  trichinae  within 
two  months.  (Jolin  concludes,  therefore,  that  the  danger  from  eating 
American  pork,  considering  the  time  that  it  must  have  been  in  salt  be- 
fore it  can  reach  Europe,  is  slight  or  inappreciable.§  Fourment  ||  and 
Chafing  have  contested  these  results,  but  their  opinions  are  so  extremely 
radical  as  to  lose  much  of  their  force  on  this  account.  It  is  not  impos- 
sible that  in  certain  very  rare  cases  the  capsules  containing  the  trich- 
iuie  may  have  become  so  dense  or  so  impregnated  with  lime  salts  as  to 
protect  the  parasites  for  a  longer  time  than  usual  against  the  action  of  the 
brine ;  but  the  complete  iuuocuousness  of  our  pork  as  demonstrated 
by  its  use  on  so  large  a  scale  in  England,  France,  Belgium,  and  Ger- 
many, with  no  cases  of  disease  clearly  traced  to  it,  is  the  strongest  pos- 
sible evidence  of  the  destruction  of  the  trichinjie  during  the  process  of 
curing. 

Dr.  Brouardel,  of  the  Paris  Academy  of  Medicine,  who  investigated 
the  recent  outbreaks  in  Ermsleben,  has  furnished  new  and  very  im- 
portant evidence  on  this  point.**  He  learned  that  the  meat  of  the  dis- 
eased l)Og  was  chopped  and  mixed  with  sufficient  salt  to  preserve  it, 
and  those  who  ate  of  this  meat  soonest  after  the  killing  of  the  animal 
were  not  only  more  severely  affected,  but  their  symptoms  appeared  in 
a  shorter  time.  The  animal  was  killed  the  12th  of  September,  and  of 
those  who  partook  of  this  meat  on  the  13th  33  per  cent,  died,  while  of 
those  who  did  not  eat  of  it  until  the  18th  and  19th  none  died.  In  fact, 
there  was  a  very  regular  graduation  in  the  intensity  and  fatality  of  the 
cases  when  they  were  classified  according  to  the  number  of  dnys  which 


'H.  Bouley,  Bui.  de  I'Acad.  de  m6d.,  Paris,  1884,  p.  33. 

tEuleuberg,  Vrtljhrscht.  f.  ger.  ni6d.,  1879. 

tLoc.  cit.,  1880. 

^G.  Coliu,  Comptes  Rendus,  xcvi  (1882),  886-'8. 

II  L.  Fourmeut,  Comptes  Keudus,  xciv  (1H82),  1211-'13. 

H  J.  Chatiu,  La  Trichiue  et  la  Tricbinose,  Paris,  1883,  1G4-190. 

**  Brouardel,  Bill,  de  I'Acad.  de  mod.,  1883,  ir)01. 


276  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

had  elapsed  between  the  killiug-  of  the  animal  and  the  eating  of  the 
meat.  It  was  very  evident  that  the  parasites  were  rapidly  losing  their 
vitality  and  their  power  to  produce  disease.  M.  Colin  thought  this  was 
due  to  the  effects  of  the  slight  salting,  and  M.  Brouardel  seemed  will- 
ing to  admit  this. 

If,  then,  so  marked  a  result  is  produced  in  a  single  week  by  the  slight 
salting  which  this  chopped  meat  received,  it  is  very  plain  that  the  high 
degree  of  salting  to  which  our  packed  meats  are  subjected  must  be  suf- 
ficient in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  to  completely  destroy  all  trichinae 
and  to  make  the  meats  perfectly  safe.  The  question  cannot  be  nar- 
rowed down  for  this  reason  to  a  comparison  of  the  proportion  of  animals 
affected  with  trichinsii  in  America  and  Europe,  even  if  this  were  actually 
determined,  which  is  not  the  case,  but  it  necessarily  turns  on  the  health- 
fulness  of  the  meats  of  these  countries  at  the  time  when  they  are  ottered 
for  consumption.  And  when  the  matter  is  viewed  from  this  stand-point 
the  very  great  superiority  of  American  salted  meats  over  even  the  in- 
spected German  hogs  is  too  apparent  to  be  questioned  by  unbiased 
scientific  men. 

In  the  latest  discussion  on  this  subject  in  the  Paris  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine M.  Proust  said : 

The  question  is  not  a  deteruiiuatiou  if  American  meats  contain  tricliiuie,  but  in 
what  condition  these  trichinie  are  found ;  if  they  are  alive  or  dead  ;  if  they  are  inju- 
rious or  not ;  in  a  word,  if  the  consumption  of  American  salted  meats  is  dangerous  or 
not  to  the  public  health. 

In  this  connection  I  ask  permission  of  the  academy  to  read  a  passage  from  a  most 
interesting  letter  that  I  received  this  morning  from  Dr.  Gibert,  a  health  officer  and 
distinguished  sanitarian  of  Havre  : 

"In  1881,"  says  M.  Gibert,  "American  salted  meats  entered  largely  into  the  food 
supply  of  the  working  class  of  Havre;  but  in  regard  to  this  it  is  important  to  divide 
the  consumers  into  two  classes  : 

"1.  The  people  buying  American  salted  meat  for  family  consumption  always  cook- 
ing it  and  never  eating  it  raw.  The  inhabitants  of  the  quarters  of  Eure  and  Saint 
FrauQois  nourished  themselves  exclusively  with  it. 

"  2.  The  workmen  employed  in  handling  the  packages  of  salted  meat,  who  during' 
fifteen  years  continued  to  eat  this  meat  raw.  MM.  Bouley  and  Chatiu  could  easily 
have  seen  in  their  walks  on  the  wharves  of  Havre  workmen  breakfasting  on  a  piece 
of  bread  and  a  slice  of  raw  bacon,  eating  not  only  the  fat  but  all  parts  of  the  meat. 
Any  one  could  repeatedly  see  these  workmen  day  after  day,  even  when  at  work,  eat- 
ing pieces  of  raw  salt  pork  without  fear. 

"It  is  certain,  then,  that  at  Havre,  for  more  than  fifteen  years,  hundreds  of  work- 
men consumed  salted  meats  trichinous  as  well  as  not  trichinous,  and  never  during 
this  long  period  of  years  has  a  single  workman  been  incommoded  by  this  food. 

"  No  physician  in  Havre  has  seen  a  disease  resembling  in  the  least  the  Ermsleben 
disease  described  by  MJkl.  Brouardel  and  Grancher.  Such  an  assertion  demands  some 
proofs  which^it  is  easy  for  me  to  give. 

"  I  would  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  if  the  meat  consumed  raw  had  aftected  the 
health  of  the  workmen  employed  in  such  large  numbers  handling  salted  meats  tha 
directors  would  have  soon  discovered  the  vacancies  in  the  ranks  of  the  workers.  After 
an  investigation  carefully  made  by  me,  and  which  it  is  easy  to  make  anew  ofdcially, 
it  was  found  that  never  had  there  been  a  knowledge  of  such  a  fact  in  any  of  the  large 
importing  houses  of  Havre. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        277 

"The  workmen,  after  the  arrival  of  the  Paris  savants,  took  pleasure  in  eating  the 
pieces  themselves  that  were  pronounced  trichinous,  so  certain  were  they  of  their  per- 
fect harmlessness.  And  neither  during  the  stay  of  these  gentlemen  at  Havre  nor 
afterwards  was  there  a  single  case  of  disease,  or  even  a  simple  indisposition. 

"  In  th6  second  place,  I  would  remark  that  during  this  period  of  fifteen  years  we  have 
had  no  serious  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever.  That  of  1880-1881,  the  only  one  at  all  serious 
which  has  occurred  in  our  city,  aftected  the  quarters  occupied  by  the  well-to-do  or 
rich  people,  while  the  quarters  where  the  American  meat  was  consumed  suffered  very 
little.  There  was  then  no  possibility  of  an  error  on  the  i^art  of  the  physicians,  even 
if  such  a  gross  error  could  have  been  committed. 

"It  follows,  fi'om  the  facts  that  I  have  just  related,  that  the  salting  of  American  pork 
is  sufficient  to  kill  the  trichime  ;  and  if,  in  addition  to  this  cause  of  security  which  has 
been  experimented  upon  by  the  workmen  of  Havre  for  fifteen  years,  we  add  the  cook- 
ing, as  it  is  practiced  everywhere  in  France,  the  conclusion  is  foiced  upon  every  one 
not  prejudiced  in  advance  that  American  salted  meats  are  absolutely  incapble  of 
producing  trichiniasis  in  the  consumers." 

the  same  discussion  M,  Leblauc  said : 

The  discussion  appears  to  me  exhausted ;  however,  I  ask  permission  of  the  academy 
to  communicate  in  support  of  the  note  of  Dr.  Gibert  the  following  observation.  It 
was  furnished  to  me  by  the  principal  meat  inspector  of  Paris : 

The  veterinarians  under  his  direction  examined  during  six  mouths  in  1881  5,000 
kilograms  (11,000  pounds)  of  American  salted  meat  per  day.  Sixty  ihousand  kilo- 
grams were  seized  as  trichinous,  aud  a  large  part  was  shii^ped  to  England.  During 
these  six  months  the  emjdoycs  and  draymen  of  the  dealers  in  salted  meats  who  came 
to  the  station  of  Batignolles  ate  meat  in  presence  of  the  inspectors  which  was  noto- 
riously infected  with  trichin;e.     Not  one  of  them  became  sick. 

One  of  these,  M.  R.,  employed  by  Caiman,  11  Eue  Bergere,  was  accustomed  to  this, 
and  took  pleasure  in  eating  the  parts  of  the  pork  in  which  the  microscope  had  demon- 
strated the  presence  of  trichina^.  To-day,  after  three  years,  he  is  well;  more  than 
this,  having  been  received  at  Beaujou  as  a  patient  of  our  colleague  M.  Tillaux,  for  a 
fractured  arm,  and  having  related  his  bravado,  lie  was  the  subject  of  a  special  exam- 
ination; his  muscular  tissue  was  recognized  to  be  healthy,  and  no  trichinje  could  be 
found  in  it.* 

EFFECT   OF   COOKING   ON   TRICHINA. 

If  the  trichiupe  of  American  pork  are  destroyed  by  the  curing  pro- 
cess in  a  time  much  shorter  than  is  necessary  for  such  meats  to  be 
shijjped  from  our  i^ackers  to  any  of  the  consumers  in  Europe,  it  may 
seem  superfluous  to  go  into  a  consideration  of  the  effect  of  cooking,  aud 
yet  it  is  not  wholly  so.  Under  certain  conditions  it  would  appear  that 
the  trichina?  do  resist  the  curing  process  for  a  considerable  time;  and 
though  these  coiulitions  occur  so  seldom  that  uninspected  salted  meats 
are  much  safer  than  inspected  fresh  ones,  it  is  still  worth  our  while  to 
inquire  if  perfect  safety  against  infection  cannot  be  guaranteed  where 
a  reasonable  de^iree  of  cooking  is  practiced. 

There  is  some  conflict  of  opinion  as  to  the  temperature  necessary  to 
destroy  trichime,  and  yet  the  results  of  experiments  do  not  differ  so 
widely.     Vallint  concluded  that  a  temperature  of  54°  to  56°  C.  (129  to 


*  Bulletin  de  I'Acad^mi^  de  Mddecine,  1884,  No.  6  (February  5),  pages  241  and  247. 
t  E.  Vallin.     De  la  resistance  des  trichines  a  la  chaleur  et  de  la  temp»^rature  cen- 
trale  des  viandes  propar^es.     Kev.  d'hyg.,  Paris,  1881,  III,  177-182. 


278  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES, OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

133°  R)  kills  most  of  them,  and  that  60°  C.  (140°  F.)  is  safe.  Fied- 
ler's experiments  show  that  trichina^,  are  quickly  killed  at  62.5°  C. 
(144.5°  F.)  Fjord's  investigations  show  that  the  interior  of  a  ham 
weigliing-  8  pounds  reaches  65°  C.  (149°  F.)  after  boiling  two  hours  and 
seventeen  minutes;  one  weighing  10  poutuls,  after  three  hours  and  six 
minutes ;  one  weighing  14^^  pounds,  after  four  hours  and  eleven  min- 
utes; and  one  weighing  10  pounds  after  four  hours  and  thirty-seven 
minutes.  Vallin  found  that  a  ham  weighing  12  i^ounds  had  an  interior 
temperature  of  05°  C.  after  three  and  a  half  hours'  boiling.  These  re- 
sults, therefore,  correspond  verj"  closely.  Hein*  found  that  a  2.2  pound 
roast  reached  a  temperature  in  its  interior  of  09°  C.  after  one  and  a  half 
hours.  Rupprecht  observed  that  rapidly  fried  sausage  only  had  an  in- 
terior temperature  of  53.5°  C,  and  was  still  capable  of  producing  in- 
fection. Colin  t  had  a  steak  weighing- half  a  pound  boiled  for  ten  min- 
utes, when  its  appearance  on  cutting  was  white,  without  any  red  points. 
It  still  contained  living  trichinae,  however,  which,  being  fed  to  a  bird, 
were  afterwards  found  develoi^ed  in  the  intestine. 

The  indications  from  these  experiments  are  that  while  fresh  meats 
may  not  always  be  cooked  sufficiently  to  kill  trichinae,  salted  meats  are 
almost  invariably  cooked  for  more  than  the  necessary  time.  This  con- 
clusion seems  also  to  be  borne  out  by  the  experience  of  people  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Trichiniasis  from  cooked  meats  is  an  exceedingly 
rare  disease.  In  the  United  States,  where  pork  in  its  various  forms  is 
consumed  to  as  large  an  extent  as  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  where 
more  than  one-fourth  of  the  hog  product  of  the  world  is  eaten,  it  is 
seldom,  indeed,  that  we  hear  of  any  infection  among  our  native  popu- 
lation, because  the  habit  of  eating  raw  meats,  particularly  when  fresh, 
does  not  prevail.  The  few  cases  which  occur  from  time  to  time  are 
nearly  always  among  Germans  and  are  traced  to  the  ingestion  of  pork 
in  some  form,  which  has  not  been  cooked  at  all. 

In  this  connection  Dr.  Brouardel  brought  out  a  very  interesting  fact 
in  his  investigation  of  the  epidemic  at  Ermslebeu.  No  cases  of  disease 
occurred  there  excef)t  with  those  who  ate  the  -neat  raw.  The  family  of 
Herr  Heine,  the  mayor  of  Ermsleben,  consisting  of  live  persons,  con- 
sumed some  of  this  same  meat  in  the  form  of  sausage  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember. The  sausage  was  cut  in  pieces  about  li  inches  in  diameter  and 
was  cooked  by  placing  in  boiling  water  for  only  five  minutes.  Not  one 
of  this  family  suffered  in  the  least  degree,  but  the  cook  who  ate  a  small 
piece  of  the  sausage  before  it  was  cooked  contracted  the  disease.  Boil- 
ing for  so  short  a  time  has  never  heretofore  been  considered  sufficient 
to  destroy  this  parasite,  and  yet  in  this  instance  it  undoubtedly  pro- 
tected the  consumers  from  the  infection. 

At  the  session  of  the  Paris  Academy  of  Medicine,  January  29,  1884^ 
a  report  was  presented  by  the  special  committee  appointed  to  consider 

*  C.  Hein.     Rep.  of  a  case  of  trichiniasis,  with  remarks  on  diagnosis  and  jiropbylaxis. 
Mitth.  d.  Vcr.  d.  Aev/te  in  Nied  Pest,  1883. 
to.  Colin.     Sur  les  trichines.     Bnlletin  de  I'Acad.  de  m^d.,  1881,  '243. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


279 


I 


(1)  the  report  of  M.  Broiiardel  in  regard  to  his  inissiou  to  Ermslebeu, 

(2)  the  coinmuuication  of  M.  Grancher  ou  the  symptoms  aud  patholog- 
ical anatomy  of  the  epidemic  of  Ermsleben,  and  (3)  a  letter  from  the 
minister  of  commerce  asking  the  advice  of  the  academy  in  regard  to  the 
question  of  trichiniasis.  In  this  report  appear  the  following  points  of 
interest : 

A  considerable  invasion  of  German  rats  has  been  noticed  of  late  years  after  the 
freezing  of  the  Rhine,  aud  M.  Brouardel  no  longer  sees  the  same  species  of  rats  at  the 
morgue  that  he  formerly  found  there.  M.  Laboulbene  and  M.  Colin  had  occasion  to 
observe  quite  a  large  number  of  trichinous  rats  that  had  been  found  in  the  sewers  of 
Paris.  Finally,  we  are  also  invaded  by  the  trichime  which  penetrate  Frauce  with  the 
German  hogs,  which  are  infected  in  the  proportion  of  1  to  1,000  to  1  to  2,000. 

Without  doubt  we  do  not  know  precisely,  scientifically,  the  degree  of  activity  of 
the  trichime  according  to  the  time  that  they  have  been  encysted  in  Americau  meats, 
their  vigor,  the  condition  of  the  meat  and  the  stage  of  the  curing — desiderata  which 
future  experiments  can  alone  supply. 

The  same  ignorance  exists  in  regard  to  our  own  hogs — are  any  of  them  trichinous  ? 
If  so,  what  proportion  ?  What  is  the  condition  of  those  in  the  suburban  zone  sur- 
rounding Paris  which,  nourished  like  the  sewer  rats,  may  be  trichinous  like  them? 

It  remains  for  us  to  speak  of  the  action  of  American  salted  meats  in  the  production 
of  the  epidemics  of  trichiniasis  in  Germany  which  have  been  observed  at  Dusseldorf, 
Eostock,  and  Bremen,  but  our  information  in  this  respect  is  entirely  insufficient,  aud 
according  to  the  indications  that  M.  Brouardel  has  already  presented  to  the  academy 
the  exotic  origin  of  these  epidemics  is  denied  by  several  of  the  principal  German 
savans,  and  particularly  by  M.  Virchow.  Oui*  Government  might  address  the  German 
Empire  in  regard  to  this  in  order  to  have  official  documents;  but  the  results  of  such 
an  in(iuiry  have  for  us,  from  the  standpoint  now  under  discussion,  an  almost  secon- 
dary importance.  If  in  fact  we,  like  the  English  and  the  Belgians,  have  been  free 
iVom  epidemics  of  trichiniasis  although  we  received  salted  trichinous  meats  and  even 
fresh  or  slightly  salted  pork  of  German  origin  more  dangerous  than  that  which  comes 
f)om  Chicago  or  Cincinnati,  since  it  had  only  to  cross  the  Rhine  and  the  Vosges, 
this  is  because  our  culinary  habits  are  entirely  different.  Let  us  remark  also  that  in 
America  it  is  above  all  the  Germans  who  are  affected  with  trichiniasis — an  additional 
proof  of  the  effect  of  culinary  habits. 

But  already  we  can  conclude  from  the  developments  which  precede  that  no  case  of 
Trichiniasis  having  been  noticed  either  in  France  or  in  England  froiA  the  consumption 
of  American  salted  pork,  the  importation  of  these  meats  may  be  authorized  in  France. 
This  decision  has  been  reached  by  the  commission  by  a  vote  of  5  to  1. 

At  the  same  session  of  the  academy  M.  Lunier  presented  the  follow- 
ing table,  showing  the  importation  of  salt-pork  products  for  eight  years, 
in  kilograms : 


Year. 


1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 


United  States. 


3,269,960 
12, 462,  078 
28, 102,  290 
31,  784,  913 
34,  246, 195 
17, 123,  767 
4,611 


England.     Germany. 


other  coun- 
tries. 


1,  875,  736 
1,  889,  905 
1,454,884 
1, 107,  601 
1.233,228 
686,  525 
1, 109,  870 


702.  530 
994,  334 
921,167 

1,  03P,  673 
846, 174 
723,  465 

1,  055,  783 


52,396  1,136,793 


1,  047,  920 
1,  078,  505 
1,314,437 
1,  742,  854 
2,387,671 
1, 182, 474 

1,  074,  259 

2,  091,  779 


Total. 


7,  896, 146 
16,  424,  722 
31,  792,  778 
35,  675,  131 
38,  713,  268 
19,  716,  231 
3,  244,  523 
3,  274,  966 


It  follows  from  this  table  that  the  importation  of  Americau  salted  meats,  which  had 
augmented  rapidly  from  1676  to  1880,  began  to  diminish  in  1881,  after  the  decree  of 
February  18,  1881,  which  prohibited  the  importation  of  salted  moats  from  the  United 


280         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

States  iuto  all  the  Frencli  territory.  The  4,611  kilograms  which  appear  iu  the  year 
1882  came  from  a  stock  taken  from  the  warehouses  December  :31,  1882.  The  52,396 
kilograms  of  188:3  were  iutroduced  after  the  promulgation  of  the  decree  of  November 
27,  1883,  which  removed  the  interdiction. 

The  same  gentleman  presented  the  following  table,  which  shows  the 
number  of  live  hogs  imported  into  France  iu  the  years  1877  and  1882, 
and  the  countries  from  which  they  came : 


Countries. 


1882. 


Germany ]  15,  983 

Belgium 57,806 

Spam 4,234 

Italy i  66,366 

Switzerland •■  964 

other  countries 941 


16, 165 

68,  716 

2,204 

9,567 

1,586 

913 


Total 146,294       99,148 

\ L^ 

In  this  connection  he  remarked,  "  It  is  then,  to-day,  Belgium  and 
Germany  which  furnish  us  the  greatest  number  of  living  hogs.  Is  it  not 
from  this  direction  that  there  is  reason  to  fear  the  invasion  of  trichinae 
and  trichiuiasis?"* 

TEICHINIASIS  IN  AMERICA  AND   EUROPE. 

The  number  of  cases  of  trichiuiasis  occurring  among  peojjle  in  the 
United  States  is  actually  very  small.  The  records  of  these  have  not 
been  brought  together  in  a  thorough  manner,  but,  as  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  ascertain,  the  disease  has  never  occurred  iu  more  than  three  or 
four  localities  iu  a  single  year,  and  during  the  last  twenty  years  there 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  more  than  thirty  different  outbreaks.  In 
none  of  these  outbreaks  have  a  sufficient  number  of  peo])le  been  attacked 
to  allow  of  the  term  epidemic  being  applied  to  them  in  any  proper  sense 
of  the  word.  Usually  but  two  to  four  people  have  been  affected  at  a 
time,  and  never,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  more  than  ten.  All 
have  resulted  from  eating  raw  or  very  imperfectly  cooked  meat,  and  in 
very  few  of  the  instances  had  the  pork  undergone  any  i^reliminary  curing. 
Some  of  the  cases  reported  as  trichiuiasis  were  never  demonstrated  to 
be  this  disease,  but  seem  to  have  been  the  result  of  poisoning  by  meat 
which  had  been  preserved  without  sufficient  salting  until  it  had  under- 
gone partial  decomposition.  It  has  long  been  known  that  extremely 
virulent  poisons  are  produced  during  putrefaction  of  flesh,  and  the 
effects  of  these  have  been  observed  so  often  in  Germany  when  sausages 
were  eaten  that  they  have  received  the  special  name  of  ivurstgift  or 
sausage  poison.  This  does  not  seem  to  be  understood  by  many  Ameri- 
can physicians,  and  so  nearly  every  case  of  sickness  arising  from  the 
consumption  of  the  raw  or  imperfectly  cooked  flesh  of  hogs  in  the  vari- 
ous forms  in  which  it  is  preserved  is  reported  as  trichiuiasis.  So  that 
while  it  may  be  true  that  some  cases  have  not  been  reported  or  brought 


*  Bulletin  de  l'Acad6mie  de  M6decine,  1884,  pp.  189-211. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        281 

to  our  notice  it  is  equally  true  that  uot  all  the  cases  reported  as  trichi- 
niasis  were  really  due  to  trichiuse. 

In  the  debate  which  occurred  in  the  French  Senate  June  20, 1882,  M« 
Festeliu  referred  to  seven  epidemics  produced  by  American  pork.*  One 
of  these  so-called  epidemics  consisted  of  a  single  case  of  the  disease  which 
occurred  in  New  York.  Another  was  the  disease  on  the  English  ship 
Cornwall,  which  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  typhoid  fever,  and  was  only 
decided  to  be  trichiniasis  when  a  body  was  exhumed  two  months  after 
burial,  and  worms,  which  the  examining  physician  took  to  be  trichinae? 
were  found  in  the  muscles.  But  we  have  it  on  the  very  best  authority 
that  these  worms  were  not  trichinae,  and  there  is  no  evidence  even  that 
they  caused  the  disease.  The  most  i>robable  theory  is  that  they  gained 
access,  to  the  body  after  burial.  Xo  trichinaj  or  other  parasites  were 
found  in  the  American  meat  consumed  on  this  vessel. 

Another  epidemic  he  referred  to  as  having  occurred  at  Bremen,  in 
which  forty  persons  became  diseased  from  eating  an  American  ham. 
M.  Chatiu  has  mentioned  this  outbreak  again  and  again,  and  insists  that 
it  is  a  demonstration  of  the  dangerous  character  of  American  meats. 
The  charge  was  so  serious  that  it  has  been  investigated  as  carefully  as 
possible.  M.  Testelin  does  not  give  the  authority  who  is  responsible 
for  this  statement,  nor  does  he  so  much  as  say  in  what  year  the  outbreak 
occurred.  M.  Chatin  is  more  definite,  however,  and  says  the  disease 
was  observed  in  1875.t  He  refers  to  the  Traits  dliygiene  imhlique  et 
privee,  by  Proust,  published  in  1877,  as  his  authority  for  asserting  that 
forty  persons  were  affected  at  this  place  as  the  result  of  eating  an  Ameri- 
can ham.  By  consulting  the  yearly  health  report  of  Bremen  for  1875 
we  find  that  no  cases  of  trichiniasis  in  man  are  recorded  during  that 
year.  There  is  simply  a  statement  that  two  trichiuous  hogs  (native 
animals)  were  discovered  near  Bremen.  The  outbreak  of  trichiniasis 
referred  to  by  Testelin  and  Chatin  seems  to  have  been  one  thatoccurred  at 
Hastedt,  near  Bremen  in  1874,  during  which  forty-two  persons  suffered, 
but  all  recovered.  This  epidemic  was  first  announced  August  15,  and 
was  caused  by  eating  the  flesh  of  a  hog  that  had  been  slaughtered  July 
31.  The  diagnosis  was  confirmed  by  microscopic  examination  of  a  piece 
of  muscle  from  one  of  the  sufferers.^  There  had  been  a  habit  here,  as 
in  most  other  parts  of  Germany,  of  attributing  all  cases  of  this  disease  to 
American  pork  without  investigation,  and  this  may  have  been  the  origin 
of  the  story  so  industriously  circulated  by  M.  Chatin.  At  all  events, 
this  is  the  only  extensive  epidemic  of  trichiniasis  which  is  recorded  as 
occurring  at  or  in  the  vicinity  of  Bremen  from  1873  to  1877,  inclusive, 
and  there  is  no  question  but  that  this  was  caused  by  a  native  animal. 

One  of  the  other  epidemics  referred  to  occurred  in  Madrid,  and  an- 

*  Chatin,  La  Tricliine,  «fec.,  p.  210. 
t  Chatin,  La  Trichiiu-,  &c.,  p.  1G5. 

X  Dritter  Jahresbericht  iiber  deu  oft'.     Gesuudheitszustaud,  iVc.  in  Hieiiieii,  in  Jaliie 
1874. 


282  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Other  ill  Liege,  in  Belgium.  It  is  doubtful  if  in  either  case  the  trouble 
was  traced  to  our  pork ;  but  no  facts  in  regard  to  them  have  yet  been 
obtained. 

M.  Chatin,in  his  recent  work  on  trichinje  and  trichiuiasis,  states  that 
"  such  is  actually  the  frequency  of  trichiuiasis  in  the  Uiiiteii  States  that 
the  newspapers  consider  themselves  happy  if  they  have  but  a  few 
deaths  to  record  each  week."  Whether  any  one  in  France  believes  this 
remarkable  exaggeration  may  be  considered  questionable,  but  still  it  is 
seriously  advanced  by  a  scientific  man  as  a  reason  for  prohibiting  our 
pork.  Those  who  see  the  American  papers  know  very  well  that  not 
only  weeks  but  months  elapse  when  no  deaths  are  recorded  from  this 
cause.  And  if  it  were  not  for  our  foreign  population,  who  have  brought 
with  them  their  dangerous  habits  of  eating  uncooked  pork,  America 
would  be  as  free  from  trichiuiasis  among  her  people  to-day  as  is  France. 

When  we  examine  the  records  of  Germany,  however,  we  find  that,  in 
spite  of  the  small  proportion  of  infected  hogs  which  they  admit,  in 
spite  of  the  inspection,  there  occur  a  very  large  number  of  cases  of  this 
disease.  In  1877  there  were  16  in  Konigsberg,  1  in  Potsdam,  6  in  Ber- 
lin, 98  in  Stettin,  1  in  Oppelu,  61  iu  Merseberg,  and  52  in  Minden.  In 
1878  there  were  27  in  Konigsberg,  8  in  Marienwerder,  102  in  Potsdam, 
50  in  Stettin,  and  30  in  Merseberg.  In  1879  there  were  55  cases  in 
Konigsberg,  93  in  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  82  in  Berlin,  7  iu  Marien- 
werder, 3  in  Schleswig,  60  in  Erfurt,  7  in  Merseberg,  and  several  in  at 
least  three  other  places.  In  1880  there  were  149  in  Merseberg,  83  in 
Erfurt,  49  in  Fraukfort-on-the-Oder,  3  in  Marienwerder,  29  iu  Konigs- 
berg, and  16  iu  Berlin.  In  1881  there  were  3  in  Marienwerder,  15  in 
Berlin,  10  iu  Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  an  indefinite  number  in  Posen,  4  in 
Stettin,  148  in  Merseberg,  and  58  in  Erfurt.  In  1882  there  were  3  cases 
iu  Berlin,  60  iu  Cologne,  4  in  Merseberg,  4  iu  Heiligenstadt,  and  several 
in  Posen.*  In  1883  the  remarkable  epidemic  in  Saxony  occurred  from 
eating  pork  which  had  been  slaughtered  and  inspected  in  the  town  of 
Ermsleben.  In  Ermsleben  257  persons  contracted  the  disease,  and  50 
died.t  In  Deesdorf  there  were  40  cases  and  9  or  10  deaths ;  in  Nieu- 
hagen  80  cases  and  1  death.  There  were  a  number  of  other  epidemics 
during  the  year,  the  statistics  of  which  have  not  yet  been  published, 
but  we  have  already  recounted  sufficient  to  show  that  trichiuiasis  is  in- 
comparably more  frequent  in  Germany  than  iu  America. 

Indeed,  for  the  sev^en  years  from  1877  to  1883,  inclusive,  the  very  in- 
com})lete  statistics  given  above  show  that  1,835  people  contracted  the 
disease,  being  an  average  of  262  cases  per  annum.  When  in  addition 
to  this  we  consider  that  the  United  States  is  really  the  greatest  pork- 
eating  nation  in  the  world,  that  we  consume  more  than  four  times  as 
many  hogs  as  are  raised  in  Prussia,  that  a  considerable  portion  of  our 
population  consists  of  Germans  who  retain  their  habit  of  eating  raw  pork, 


* Eulenberg,  Vrtljrscht.  f.  <xer.  Med.,N.  F.,  XXVIII-XXXVII. 
t  Deutsche  med.  Woch.,  1884,  No.  1,  p.  7. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        283 

the  wonder  is,  not  that  we  have  a  half  dozen  or  a  dozen  cases  of  trichi- 
uiasis  in  a  year,  but  that  we  do  not  have  many  times  this  number  ;  and 
we  see  no  way  of  explaining  the  comparative  immunity  which  our  jieople 
enjoy  except  by  the  conclusion  that  our  x>ork,  even  when  fresh,  is  not  so 
much  more  dangerous  than  the  German  article  as  the  results  of  micro- 
scopic examination  thus  far  published  would  lead  one  to  suppose. 

REPORTS  OF  BOARDS  OF  HEALTH. 

The  commissioners  prepared  and  forwarded  copies  of  the  following 
circular  letter  to  the  various  State  and  city  boards  of  health : 

With  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  extent  to  which  trichiniasis  prevails  in  the  United 
States,  the  following  questions  have  been  formulated,  to  be  addressed  to  the  seci'eta- 
ries  of  the  various  State  and  city  boards  of  healtli. 

As  it  is  desirable  that  the  report  of  the  commission  should  be  presented  to  Congress 
at  once,  the  undersigned  would  beg  as  speedy  a  response  as  jjossible  : 

1.  How  many  cases  of  tiichiniasis  have  come  to  thekuowledge  of  your  board  ?  Please 
give  dates  as  far  as  practicable. 

2.  In  how  many  cases  was  there  a  microscopic  identification  of  the  trichina;  in  the 
human  subject  and  in  the  suspected  meat  ? 

3.  How  manj'  of  the  cases  were  fatal  ? 

Eesponses  have  been  received  from  thirty-nine  of  these  boards ;  of  this 
number  twenty-two  give  negative  replies ;  they  were  as  follows  :  Ala- 
bama, Arkansas,  California,  Delaware,  District  of  Columbia,  Kentucky, 
Louisiana,  Maryland,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Albany  (N.  Y.),  Ohio,  Penn- 
sylvania, Rhode  Island,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia. 

The  secretary'  of  the  State  board  of  Alabama  says  that  no  case  has 
ever  occurred  in  that  State,  though  infected  meat  has  been  reported. 

The  secretary  of  the  health  department  of  Maryland  says  that  after 
an  examination  of  the  records  from  January  1,  1834,  to  December  31, 
1883,  covering  a  period  of  fifty  years,  he  finds  no  cases  of  trichiniasis 
reported. 

The  health  offtcer  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  says  that  in  1872-'73  there  were 
some  cases  of  trichiniasis  reported  in  that  city,  but  no  definite  record  of 
them  can  be  found. 

CASES   OF   TRICHINIASIS   REPORTED. 

Cases  of  trichiniasis  are  reported  by  the  following  boards,  viz: 
Connecticut. —  Three  in  1882,  all  from  the  same  pork  and  at  the  same 
time.     The  suspected  meat  was  examined  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Chamberlain,  of 
Hartford,  secretary  of  the  board,  and  others.     Xo  deaths  resulted. 
Illinois. — The  registrar  of  vital  statistics  for  the  city  of  Chicago  says  : 

Tlirec  deaths  from  trichiniasis  have  occurnvl  in  this  city  within  the  last  ten  years. 
Two  of  these  occurred  in  December,  1>^80,  and  the  last  one  in  January,  18"*2.  There 
was  a  microscopic  identification  in  the  two  first  cases  and  probably  also  in  the  last. 

The  secretary  of  the  State  board  of  health  says  : 

Between  1866  and  1881  there  had  been  seven  outbreaks  of  trichiniasis  in  Illinois, 
resulting  in  eleven  deaths  out  of  some  seventy  or  eighty  cases.     Since  1881  there  have 


284         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

been  two  deaths  iu  Chicago;  three  outbreaks,  resultiug  iu  three  deaths,  aud  some 
tweuty-five  or  thirty  cases  in  1883,  aud  oue  iu  Fultou  Couuty  iu  1884,  details  of  which 
have  not  yet  been  received.  In  niue  of  the  fatal  cases  the  disease  was  ideutilied  by 
microscopic  examinatiou  of  the  human  subject,  aud  of  the  suspected  meat  in  all  cases- 

loica. — The  Secretary  of  the  State  board  of  health  reports  as  follows: 

Since  1880,  in  compiling  deaths,  I  have  found  3  recorded  as  from  trichiuiasis  ;  in 
1880,  2  in  Adams  County,  probably  genuine  cases  ;  in  1881,  1  in  Butler  County,  a  very 
doubtful  case.     None  of  the  cases  were  identified  by  microscopic  examinations. 

Massaclmsetts. — The  health  officer  for  the  State  board  of  health  for 
Massachusetts  says : 

The  number  of  cases  of  trichiuiasis  that  have  come  to  the  kuowledge  of  the  board 
are  as  follows : 

Cases. 

In  Saxonville,  Mass. ,  February,  1870 3 

In  Lowell,  Mass.,  March,  1870 6 

In  Framingham,  Mass.,  December,  1872 * 3 

In  Becket,  Mass.,  May,  1873 4 

In  Wakefield,  Mass.,  March,  1880 3 

Total  number  of  cases 19 

Oue  death  occurred  in  the  outbreak  at  Saxonville. 

Identification  of  trichiuse  was  made  iu  the  fatal  case  at  Saxonville  by  post  mortem. 
In  the  Lowell  cases  trichime  were  identified  in  the  pork,  as  also  iu  the  Framingham 
cases.  In  the  seven  remaining  cases  at  Becket  aud  Wakefield  the  evidence  was  symp- 
tomatic and  by  exclusion,  i.  e.,  members  of  families  who  had  not  partaken  of  uncooked 
pork  were  exempt  from  infection.  The  evidence,  however,  was  satisfactory  to  the 
board. 

Michigan. — The  secretary  of  the  State  board  of  health  of  Michigan 
gives  the  following  detailed  report  of  ten  outbreaks  of  trichiuiasis  in 
that  State  since  December,  1866 : 

1.  A  fatal  case  of  .trichiuiasis  occurred  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  iu  December,  1866.  Upon 
post  mortem  examination  large  numbers  of  trichime  were  fouud  iu  the  abdomen  and 
a  lesser  number  iu  the  muscles  of  the  leg.     (Dr.  Herman  Kiefer.) 

2.  Five  cases  occurred  in  Port  Huron,  Mich.,  in  January,  1874,  with  2  deaths.  The 
cases  occurred  in  one  family,  and  were  caused  by  eating  salted  smoked  ham.  (Re- 
ported by  Dr.  M.  Northup,  Port  Huron,  Mich.) 

3.  Several  cases  of  trichiuiasis  occurred  near  Flint,  Mich.,  in  the  fall  of  the  year 
1875.  Cases  also  occurred  there  iu  June,  1876.  In  the  last  outbreak,  at  least,  trichinae 
were  found  by  microscopic  examination  iu  the  meat,  aud  also  in  a  particle  of  muscle 
of  the  leg  of  oue  of  the  patients.  (The  cases  were  in  the  practice  of  Dr.  A.  B.  Chapiu» 
of  Flint,  Mich.,  now  of  Detroit.) 

4.  Five  cases  occurred  in  Otsego  Township,  Allegan  County,  Michigan,  in  February, 
1877.  All  recovered.  All  were  in  one  family,  the  members  of  which  had  eaten  raw 
ham.  Members  of  auother  family  ate  a  small  (juautity  of  the  meat,  and  were  also 
sick,  but  recovered  without  medical  attendance.  Trichinw  were  found  in  the  meat 
by  microscopic  inspection. 

5.  Three  cases,  with  one  death,  occurred  in  the  city  of  lona,  Mich.,  in  1878,  in  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Struuck.  The  meat  was  eaten  raw.  A  microscopic  examination  of  the 
meat  was  made,  aud,  I  believe,  trichime  were  also  identified  in  the  human  subject. 

f/.  I  am  informed  that  cases,  and  one  or  more  deaths,  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of 
loua,  Mich.,  in  the  suumier  of  1880,  in  the  pi-actice  of  Dr.  H.  B.  Barnes.  Trichiute 
were  fouud  iu  the  pork,  aud  also,  I  believe,  iu  the  muscles  of  those  who  died. 

7.  Five  cases  aud  two  deaths  occurred  in  the  family  of  a  German  named  Rum- 
sock,  in  Lansing,  Mich.,  in  the  last  of  January,  1881,  and  the  first  of  February,  1881. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        285 

The  cases  were  in  the  practice  of  Dr.  Dolan,  of  Lansing,  who  has  siuce  died.  Great 
numbers  of  non-capsuled  trichin;e  were  seen  by  Dr.  George  E.  Ranney,  myself,  and 
others  in  the  muscles  of  a  boy  who  died.  (I  still  have  slides  showing  the  trichinae 
as  taken  from  the  muscles  of  a  person  in  the  family  who  died. )  Part  of  the  meat  was 
eaten  raw.  It  was  not  examined  for  trichinjv  ;  but  the  hog  was  sick  and  was  killed 
to  avoid  loss  of  the  animal. 

8.  Five  cases  of  trichiuiasis  occurred  in  Vickeryville,  Montcalm  County,  Michigan, 
in  December,  1883.  All  resulted  from  eating  the  flesh  of  one  hog.  One  death  occurred. 
The  boy  who  died  had  at  different  times  eaten  small  pieces  of  pork  only  partially 
cooked  by  holding  them  on  a  fork  before  the  tiro.  He  had  also  eaten  raw,  on  several 
occasions,  little  bits  of  sausage  made  from  the  flesh  of  the  hog.  Two  others  had  eaten 
the  meat  cooked,  but  probably  rare-done.  The  other  person  had  eaten  raw  a  little 
bit  of  sausage,  perhaps  half  an  ounce,  but  the  rest  of  what  he  ate  was  well  cooked. 
Trichinte  in  abundance  were  found  in  the  pork,  specimens  of  which  are  now  in  this 
office.     (Reported  by  Dr.  J.  Tennaut,  Carson  City,  Mich.) 

9.  Four  cases  occurred  in  January,  1884,  in  the  city  of  Niles,  Mich.  One  death  has 
occurred  and  three  persons  are  now  seriously  sick.  The  pork  contains  great  numbers 
of  trichiuie,  as  determiued  by  observations  made  at  Niles,  Ann  Arbor,  aud  in  this 
office. 

Further  details  as  to  the  five  cases  occurring  at  Port  Huron,  and  also  of  the  case 
at  Detroit,  are  given  in  the  published  report  of  this  board  for  the^year  1875;  and  of 
those  occurring  in  Otsego,  in  the  report  of  this  board  for  the  year  1877. 

Such  answers  as  I  am  able  to  give  to  the  four  questions  asked  by  your  Commis- 
sion have  been  summarized  from  the  foregoing  particulars,  and  are  given  with  each 
question,  as  follows : 

"  Question  1.  How  many  cases  of  trichiuiasis  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  your 
board  ?     Please  give  dates  as  far  as  practicable. 

"Answer  1.  I  am  able,  at  this  time,  to  send  you  facts  concerning  ten  outbreaks  of 
trichiuiasis  occurring  in  Michigan.  In  three  of  these  the  number  of  cases  was  not 
stated.  In  seven  outbreaks  there  was  a  total  of  twenty-eight  cases.  The  dates  are 
given  in  most  instances  in  the  report  accompanying  this. 

"  Question  2.  In  how  many  cases  was  there  a  microscopic  identification  of  the  tri- 
chiuie  in  the  human  subject  and  in  the  suspected  meat  ? 

"Answer  2.  In  two  outbi-eaks  the  observer  did  not  state  whether  any  mici'oscopio 
examination  was  made.  It  is  believed  that  the  human  muscles  were  examined  in  five 
of  the  outbreaks,  and  in  each  of  them  trichin;e  were  found ;  in  three  of  these  it  is  pos- 
itively known  that  trichina?  were  found  present.  In  seven  outbreaks  the  pork  was 
examined,  aud  in  each  of  the  seven  trichinse  were  found  in  the  pork.  In  the  other 
outbreak,  microscojiic  examination  was  made  only  of  the  muscles  of  the  human  sub- 
ject, in  which  trichina}  were  found. 

"Question  3.  How  many  of  the  cases  were  fatal? 

"Answer  3.  In  one  outbreak  it  was  stated  that  there  were  no  fatal  cases ;  in  one  out- 
break, where  fatal  cases  occurred,  the  number  was  not  stated  ;  in  one  outbreak  it  was 
not  stated  whether  any  fatal  cases  occurred;  in  another  outbreak,  now  in  progress, 
one  death  has  already  occurred ;  and  in  six  other  outbreaks  seven  deaths  were  re- 
ported ;  making  in  all,  in  which  the  number  was  reported,  eight  deaths." 

New  Jersey. — Tiie  records  of  the  State  board  of  New  Jersey  extend 
from  January  1,  1875,  to  date,  a  period  of  about  nine  years.  During 
this  period  but  one  death  from  trichiuiasis  has  been  reported.  This 
was  in  May,  1881,  and  was  a  female.  The  method  by  which  the  diag- 
nosis was  determined  is  not  known. 

Xew  York: — The  following  report  is  furnished  by  the  secretary  of  the 
board  of  health  of  Xew  York  City  : 

A  few  cases  of  alleged  trichiniasis  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  board,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  the  number  or  dates. 


286  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

lu  two  families,  during  the  past  eighteen  years,  there  has  been,  within  the  knowl- 
edge of  this  board,  microscopic  identification  of  trichiure  in  the  human  subject. 

During  the  past  ten  years  five  deaths  attributed  by  attending  physicians  to  trichi- 
niasis  have  been  re]>orted  to  this  board :  one  in  1875,  one  in  1878,  one  in  1880,  and  two 

in  1881. 

The  secretary  of  the  board  of  health  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  says  that  five 
cases  of  trichiuiasis  have  occurred  iu  that  city,  of  which  a  full  history 
may  be  found  in  the  ])roceedings  of  the  Medical  Society  of  Kings  County 
for  1879. 

North  Carolina.— The  secretary  of  the  State  board  says  that  an  equiv- 
ocal case  of  trichiuiasis  occurred  in  Wilmington,  in  that  State,  but  no 
microscopical  examination  was  made.  It  was  iu  the  person  of  a  boy  of 
German  parentage,  habituated  to  using  raw  ham. 

West  Virginia. — The  health  ofi&cer  of  the  city  of  Wheeling  reports 
five  cases — father,  mother,  and  child  of  same,  aged  two  and  one-half 
5^ears,  and  two  females  of  other  families.  All  ate  of  same  meat — raw 
smoked  ham — on  March  4,  1870.  No  microscopic  identification  was 
made  in  the  human  subject. 

Wiseonshi. — The  secretary  of  the  Wisconsin  State  board  of  health 
says  that  some  cases  of  trichiuiasis  have  occurred  in  Milwaukee,  but 
does  not  give  the  number  or  dates. 

CAUSE   AND   PREVENTION   OF   TRICHINA   IN   SWINE. 

The  worm  known  as  the  Trichina  spiralis  has  no  stage  of  its  existence 
outside  of  the  animal  body,  and  cannot  multiply  or  even  remain  alive 
for  any  considerable  time,  so  far  as  has  ever  been  ascertained,  after  it 
quits  its  host.  Every  infected  animal  must  become  infected  either  by 
eating  the  muscular  tissue  of  another  animal  which  has  i^reviously  ob- 
tained the  parasite  in  the  same  way,  or  possibly  by  taking  food  which 
has  been  soiled  by  the  excrement  of  an  animal  recently  infected.  It  is 
geuerallj^  admitted  that  eating  flesh  which  contains  the  parasite  is  the 
most  frequent,  if  not  substantially  the  only,  way  in  which  trichiupe  find 
their  way  into  the  body.  A  few  cases  have  been  advanced  to  show  that 
pastures  and  feeding  places  may  be  infected  and  be  dangerous  for  a  con- 
siderable time ;  but,  according  to  our  present  knowledge  of  the  natural 
history  of  this  parasite,  it  may  be  doubted  if  many  instances  of  this  kind 
occur. 

When  meat  containing  trichinaj  is  taken  into  the  stomach  the  capsule 
or  cyst  which  surrounds  the  worm  is  dissolved  by  the  digestiv^e  liquids, 
the  i>arasite  is  set  free,  develops  into  its  mature  form,  the  females  are 
impregnated,  and  each  gives  birth  to  one  thousand  or  more  young.  The 
young  trichinai  penetrate  the  intestinal  walls  and  find  their  way  into 
the  various  nuiscles  of  the  body,  while  the  mature  worms,  and  doubtless 
many  of  the  young  as  well,  are  voided  with  the  excrement.  Now,  it 
may  be  admitted  that  a  large  number  of  the  mature  parasites  will  be 
passed  from  the  bowels  before  they  have  brought  forth  their  young,  and 
that  if  taken  into  the  stomach  of  another  animal  the  act  of  reproduction 


\ 


i 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        287 

would  continue;  but  it  seems  doubtful  if  enough  of  such  mature  worms 
would  be  consumed  in  this  manner  to  cause  any  serious  infectious.  We 
do  not  know,  however,  how  long  the  worms  are  able  to  live  outside  of 
the  body  in  this  developed  condition ;  if  they  can  exist  but  a  few  days 
the  danger  from  them  would  be  very  slight,  but  if  this  period  can  be 
prolonged  for  weeks  or  months  the  danger  would  be  more  serious,  and 
we  might  have  at  least  a  partial  explanation  of  the  many  cases  of  in- 
fection occurring  where  the  condition  of  life  among  the  hogs  seems  to 
be  all  that  could  be  desired. 

The  young  trichiuiTe  or  larva?  which  are  produced  in  such  enormous 
numbers  in  the  intestines  within  a  few  days  after  infected  meat  has  been 
eaten,  and  many  of  which  are  doubtless  voided  with  the  excrement,  are 
practically  incapable  of  dangerously  infectiug  grounds  or  feeding  places. 
These  cannot  reproduce  themselves  until  they  have  found  their  way 
into  the  muscular  system,  and  have  been  encysted  for  a  time,  so  that 
even  a  considerable  number  of  such  larvse  taken  into  the  stomach  would 
produce  no  appreciable  effects. 

In  the  present  condition  of  knowledge  the  tendency  is  to  conclude 
that  by  far  the  larger  part  of  trichinous  hogs  are  infected  by  eating  the 
flesh  of  some  animal  wbich  has  previously  been  infected  in  the  same  way. 
Trichinae  cannot  develop  or  live  for  any  considerable  time  in  the  bodies 
of  insects,  cold-blooded  animals,  or  birds,  and,  consequently,  the  infec- 
tion must  result  from  some  of  the  warm-blooded  animals,  which  either 
habitually  or  occasionally  eat  flesh.  Among  these  cats,  rats,  and  mice 
are  the  ones  most  frequently  suspected;  but  an  inquiry  into  the  condi- 
tions under  which  hogs  are  raised  in  the  West  has  led  us  to  doubt  if 
the  infection  could  occur  in  any  considerable  number  of  cases  in  this 
way.  Hogs  are  usually  kept  in  grass  fields,  where  rats  and  mice  are  not 
common,  and  where  cats  certainly  do  not  abound,  and  in  no  part  of  the 
hog-raising  country  is  it  a  custom',  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  to  run 
the  hogs  in  corn-fields,  where  there  would  be  an  opportunity  of  their 
finding  rats  and  mice. 

It  has  been  charged  that  there  was  a  custom  of  feeding  the  hogs 
which  died  from  disease  to  the  well  animals,  and  that  this  accounted 
for  the  trichinous  infection.  After  an  extensive  investigation,  however, 
we  feel  authorized  to  state  that  this  assertion  is  not  correct.  Such  a 
practice  seems  to  have  been  followed  to  some  extent  a  half  dozen  or 
more  years  ago,  but  as  the  contagious  character  of  hog  cholera  became 
better  understood,  and  as  the  demand  increased  for  the  cheap  grease 
rendered  from  such  dead  animals,  they  were  more  generally  sold  to 
rendering  establishments  at  a  price  considerably  beyond  what  they 
would  be  worth  for  animal  food.  The  trichina?  of  to-day  must  therefore 
be  acquired  from  some  other  source  than  the  hogs  which  die  upon  the 
farms. 

The  French  and  German  authors  have  not  hesitated  to  assume  that 
our  hogs  were  infected  by  feeding  upon  offal  from  the  slaughter-houses, 
but  this  assumption  could  only  have  been  made  in  complete  ignorance 


288         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

of  the  actual  condition  of  afiairs  in  the  hog-growing  sections  of  the 
country.  Practically  all  of  the  hogs  which  go  to  the  packing-houses 
are  raised  upon  farms  miles,  and  generally  hundreds  of  miles,  from  any 
large  city  where  offal  could  be  obtained,  and  they  are  never  fed  upon 
anything  but  vegetable  food.  The  blood  and  offal  at  the  large  pack- 
ing-houses is  dried  at  a  high  temperature  and  sold  for  fertilizers,  and  is 
never  fed  to  the  hogs  even  in  the  stock-yards.  The  foreign  microsco- 
pists  have  the  proof  of  this  in  their  own  hands,  if  they  would  only  give 
the  matter  a  little  consideration  before  accepting  the  absurd  statements 
of  ignorant  and  prejudiced  jjarties. 

During  the  killing  season  as  many  as  60,000  hogs  are  received  at  the 
Chicago  stock-yards  in  a  single  day,  and  it  is  evident  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  furnish  accommodations  for  holding  this  enormous  num- 
ber for  any  considerable  time  before  killing.  IsTow,  the  trichinie  which 
are  found  in  American  pork  are  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  encysted, 
and  for  this  condition  to  be  reached  time  is  required,  and  much  more 
time  than  it  is  possible  to  hold  hogs  in  the  cities  where  alone  offal  for 
feeding  them  can  be  obtained.  It  is  four  weeks  after  infection  before 
cysts  are  formed,  and  it  is  six  weeks  to  two  months  before  they  reach 
the  condition  in  which  they  are  generally  found  by  the  microscoi)ic  ex- 
amination of  our  meats.  While  we  know  from  our  own  observation  in 
all  the  cities  where  hogs  are  packed  that  the  animals  are  not,  fed  upon 
offal  previous  to  killing,  we  have  here  in  the  condition  of  the  trichinae 
themselves  the  best  and  the  most  incontrovertible  evidence  that  the 
animals  were  not  infected  by  offal  fed  while  they  were  held  at  the  pack- 
ing-houses before  slaughter. 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  just  been  said  that  we  are  unable  at  pres- 
ent to  give  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  manner  in  which  Western 
hogs  become  infected  with  trichinae,  for  the  conditions  of  life,  at  least 
so  far  as  we  are  able  to  see,  appear  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  to  be 
all  that  can  be  desired.  The  infected  hogs  must  be  traced  to  the  coun- 
ties from  which  they  come,  and  even  to  the  farms  on  which  they  are 
raised,  and  the  conditions  studied  as  they  exist  on  known  infected 
I)remises,  before  it  will  be  possible  to  give  a  solution  to  this  difficult 
question.  And  until  this  is  done  no  effectual  rules  for  prevention  can 
be  formulated  further  than  in  a  general  way  to  recommend  that  the 
hogs  have  no  access  to  an3^  animal  matter  except  what  has  been  thor- 
oughly^ cooked. 


SALT  USED  IN  PACKING. 

The  salts  most  generally  used  in  packing  in  the  United  States  are  the 
Syracuse  solar  salt,  of  which  2,500,000  bushels  were  manufactured  last 
year ;  Michigan  solar  salt,  of  which  50,000  bushels  were  manufactured 
last  year,  and  Turk's  Island  salt.  For  rubbing  hams  either  the  ground 
solar  salt  or  the  Syracuse  factory  filled  dairy  salt  is  employed. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


289 


Some  years  ago  the  War  Department  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment caused  some  practical  tests  to  be  made  by  having  meats  packed 
with  Turk's  Island  and  Syracuse  solar  salt.  The  meats  were  afterward 
sent  to  the  diflerent  forts  on  the  sea-coast,  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
in  the  interior. 

The  result  of  the  experiment  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  Syracuse 
solar  salt  is  equal  in  every  respect  for  packing  purposes  to  the  imported 
Turk's  Island  sea  salt,  and  since  that  time  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment has  required  that  beef  and  pork  packed  for  the  Army  and  Navy 
Khali  be  packed  with  Turk's  Island  or  Syracuse  solar  salt. 

American  packers  fully  appreciate  the  importance  of  good  salt,  and 
are  very  careful  in  securing  the  best  brands. 

The  following  analj'ses  of  American  and  European  salts  show  that 
the  salts  used  in  this  couutrj'  compare  very  favorably  with  those  of 
Europe : 

SALT  USED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Description. 


33 


as 


n  c3 

MS 
1:$  m 


Water. 


1.  Turk's  Island  eea  salt ]  96.760 

2.  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  solar  salt 96.004 

3.  Saginaw,  Mich.,  solar  salt 9.5.831 

4.  Lincoln,  Nebr.,. solar  salt <  98.130 

5.  Kansas,  solar  salt 1  93.  060 

6.  Hockiui;  Valley,  Ohio,  solar  salt.  I  97.512 

T.  Petit  A nse.  La.,  rock  salt 98.  882 

8.  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  "factory  filled  1 

dairy" 97.832 


0.092 
0.  3.56 


0.234 
0.004 


0.140 
0.089 
0.140 
0.080 
0.240 
0.089 
0.003 


0.390 
0.350 


1.560 
1.315 
0.316 
0.250 
1.220 


0.180 


0.037  I     0.026 


0.782 
1.263 


0.120 


0.900 
2.50« 
3.344 
1.200 
4.950 
2.130 
0.330 

0.700 


ANALYSES  OF  EUROPEAN  SALT. 


a-s 


a  . 

0.2 


9.  Lisbon,  Portugal,  first  crop  sea 

salt 97.075  0.777 

10.  Lisbon,  Portugal,  second  crop 

sea  salt 94.033  2.151 

11.  Avoiro,  Poi  tugal.iflrst  crop  sea 

salt 97.251  1.134 

12.  Aveiro,  Portugal,  second  crop 

sea  .salt 98.618  \  0.181 

13.  St.  Felice  sea  salt {  94.  072  j  0. 141 

14.  Velicka,  Galicia,  rock  salt 90.230  j  0.4,50 

15.  Hall,  Tyrol,  rock  salt 91.780  '  0.090 

16.  Scliiinebeck,  Prussia,  Saxony  ..^  95.400  !  0.080 

17.  Diirrenborg,  Saxony '  92.642  !  0.719 

18.  Art.prn,  Saxony I  94.835  0.616 

19.  Hiille,  Saxony 92.773  '  0.805 

20.  Krfurtb,  Saxony I  96.941  ,  0.017 

31.  Louisenthal 96.866  0.060 


0.307 
0.488 


1.35 
1.35 
0.41 


1.538 

1.471 

0.645 

0.640 
0.373 
0.720 
1.190 
0.730 
1.632 
1.061 
1.296 
2.093 
0.964 


a  . 

a  9 


0.565 

2.337 

0.903 

0. 165 
0.060 
0.610 
1.210 
0.470 


O  (3 

00  a 


0.045 

0.008 

0.067 

0.396 
0.116 
5.880 
2.490 


Water. 


5.  073 
0  860 
1.890 
2.900 
4.700 
3.000 
4.600 
0.906 
2.000 


5751  D  A- 


-19 


290  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

AUTHORITIES  FOR   ANALYSES. 

Analyses  numbered  1  to  8,  of  salts  used  in  the  United  States,  were 
made  by  C.  A.  Goessmann,  Ph.  D.,  professor  of  chemistry  in  th^  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  College,  and  published  in  a  lecture  on  salt  and 
its  uses  in  agriculture,  delivered  before  the  State  department  of  agri. 
agriculture  in  Massachusetts. 

Analyses  9,  10,  11,  and  12,  of  Portuguese  salt,  is  from  the  Mechanics' 
Magazine. 

No.  13  is  by  Yon  Kripp,  and  is  from  Oesterr.  Zeitschri/t  fiir  Berg-  «» 
Hilttenwesen,  1867. 

Kos.  14  and  15  are  by  Von  Stoba,  and  are  from  Die  chemische  Mitt- 
heilungen,  Prag,  1880. 

No.  16  is  by  Heine,  and  is  taken  from  Kna^jp's  Lehrbuch  der  chenii- 
scJien  Technologies  3d  ed. 

Nos.  17, 18, 19,  20,  and  21  are  by  L.  Enders,  and  are  from  the  Archiv, 
der  Phartnacie,  Vol.  143,  p.  20. 


1 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS  OF  CORRESPONDENTS. 


DISEASES  OF  CATTLE. 

Black-leg. — Mr.  S.  Woodsum,  jr.,  of  Wilkin  County,  Minnesota, 
writes  as  follows  concerning  black-leg  in  cattle : 

I  desire  to  give  you  luy  experience  with  the  disease  kuowu  at.  black-leg  in  cattle. 
Several  years  ago  I  lost  quite  a  number  of  these  animals,  mostly  calves,  but  1  h.ave 
had  a  number  of  cows  attacked  by  the  disease.  It  has  invariably  been  those  that 
were  fat  that  were  taken  sick.  The  first  indication  of  sickness  is  loss  of  appetite, 
staring  coat  and  lameness,  very  sensitive  to  pressure  on  the  outside  of  shoulders,  and 
very  laborious  breathing.  A. post-mortem  examination  revealed  the  hind  parts  normal ; 
the  liver  very  black  and  tender  and  breaking  into  pieces  at  slight  touch;  the  air  pas 
sages  through  tbe  lungs,  the  heart,  and  the  heart  case  congested  and  filled  with  black 
blood. 

The  cause  of  this  disease,  I  am  convinced  by  experience  and  observation,  is  over- 
feeding. For  instance,  cows  that  were  milked  all  winter,  and  were  fed  eight  quarts 
per  day  of  corn  meal,  linseed  meal,  oatmeal,  and  wheat  bran,  went  through  the  winter 
without  getting  sick  ;  but  cows  that  came  to  the  barn  fat  and  dry,  and  were  not  fed 
anything  but  hay  until  after  dropping  their  calf,  when  they  were  put  on  the  same 
feed  as  those  that  had  been  milked  all  winter,  were  taken  sick  in  every  instance. 
Again,  cows  that  came  to  the  barn  dry  and  fat,  and  received  a  daily  ration  of  feed  of 
the  same  quality  as  the  other  cows,  but  a  much  less  quantity  than  before  dropping, 
and  then  increased  in  quantity  to  the  same  amount  as  the  others,  got  through  with- 
out being  sick. 

My  experience  has  been  about  the  same  with  calves  as  it  has  been  with  cows.  A 
calf  that  had  been  allowed  to  run  with  its  dam  all  summer,  being  very  fat,  was  turned 
into  a  field  where  grain  had  been  harvested  a#d  a  very  luxuriant  growth  of  volunteer 
grain  had  si)ruug  up,  and  it  was  soon  taken  sick. 

As  a  preventive  we  quite  often  read  that  salting  twice  a  week  will  prove  beneficial, 
but  this  never  made  any  dilfereuce  with  tbe  stoclv  in  this  vicinity,  from  the  fact  that 
I  was  about  the  only  one  that  kept  sa^  where  the  animals  could  get  it  night  and 
morning,  and  yet  I  lost  as  many,  if  not  more,  than  any  of  my  neighbors.  I  have  al- 
ways fed  more  grain  than  any  one  else  in  this  neighborhood. 

When  Dr.  Hurn,  of  the  Signal  Service,  was  here,  some  seven  or  eight  years  ago,  1 
described  the  post-mortem  appearance  of  an  animal  that  had  died  of  black-leg.  He 
advised  me  to  try  drenching  with  strong  salt  brine,  and  lam  happy  to  say  that  1  ac- 
cepted his  advice,  and  have  not  since  lost  either  a  cow  or  a  calf.  I'ut  one-half 
pint  of  salt  into  a  quart  bottle,  fill  Avith  water,  shake  well,  and  give  about  half  as  the 
first  dose  ;  in  about  an  hour  give  the  remainder,  and  one  hour  later  rei)eat.  The  fol- 
lowing day  the  operation  should  be  again  repeated.  I  have  used  this  reL.edy  in  the 
case  of  sick  horses  with  satisfactory  results. 

Mr.  L.  E.  Howe,  of  Anderson  County,  Kansas,  recently  lost  eight 
head  of  yearling  steers  by  black-leg.  AA'^'riting,  under  date  of  August 
8,  he  says: 

I  have  lost  eight  head  of  yearling  steers  out  of  a  herd  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-tivf 
brought  from  Shannon  County,  Missouri,  to  this  county  this  seascn.     The  disease  is 

291 


292  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS 

called  black-leg,  aud  I  can  learn  of  no  remedy  from  local  scources.  A  steer,  appar. 
ently  well  yesterday,  at  evening  was  observed  staggering  about,  at  daylight  this 
morning  it  was  down,  at?  a.  ra.  it  was  unable  to  rise,  aud  at  8  a.  m.  it  was  dead.  On 
cutting  the  animal  open  various  dark,  bloody  spots  were  found  under  the  skin  and 
involving  the  tissue.     The  heart  was  seriously  affected. 

An  epidemic  of  black-leg  prevailed  among  cattle  in  Trego  County, 
Kansas,  during  the  months  of  November  and  December  last.  In  the 
early  part  of  December  Mr.  Ben.  C.  Eich,  of  the  above-named  county, 
informed  the  Department  that  over  one  hundred  head  of  cattle  had  died 
of  the  disease  in  Ogallah  Township  alone.  He  had  lost  eleven  animals 
himself,  a  neighbor  had  lost  seven,  another  seven,  and  still  others  three 
or  four  each.    As  to  the  post-mortem  appearances  of  the  disease,  he  says : 

I  was  to-day  called  upon  by  a  neighbor  to  make  an  examination  of  three  animals 
which  had  just  died,  of  which  I  send  you  the  following  imperfect  report : 

No.  1.  A  heifer  calf  four  months  old,  still  fed  twice  a  day  on  milk  and  the  run  oi 
wheat  aud  rye.  The  first  symptoms  were  weakness  in  hind  limbs  and  small  of  back, 
aud  a  dragging  motion  of  hind  legs  when  attempting  to  walk.  When  opened,  the 
blood  was  found  discolored  on  inside  of  both  hind  legs  and  over  the  left  kidney.  The 
tissue  which  surrounds  the  paunch  and  intestines  was  also  discolored.  The  small  in- 
testines aud  manifold  were  very  tender  aud  easily  torn.  There  was  no  bake.  The 
melt  was  much  inflamed  and  bloody  and  very  tender.  Other  organs  seemed  normal. 
Yellowish  froth  issued  from  the  mouth. 

No.  2.  A  cow  three  years  old  and  giving  milk.  Appeared  well  yesterday  morning 
wten  milked.  Sickness  discovered  in  afternoon,  and  died  during  last  night.  The 
first  symptom  wes  lameness  in  righ  hind  leg,  which  was  much  inflamed  at  stifle  joint 
and  very  sore  to  the  touch.  On  opening,  found  the  whole  right  horn  very  much  in- 
flamed ;  flesh  very  dark  and  bloody,  and  over  right  kidney  the  same ;  tissues  sur- 
rounding the  paunch  and  small  intestines  much  discolored ;  manifold  baked  ;  liver  in- 
flamed, aud  so  tender  that  I  could  tear  it  easily  with  my  fiuger.  About  a  quart  of 
bloody  water  was  found  in  the  cavity  of  the  body.  There  was  no  discoloration  on 
front  part  of  body.  All  other  organs  seemed  normal.  The  animal  was  five  months 
gone  with  calf. 

No.  3.  A  fine,  large-grade  cow,  three  years  old  next  spring,  and  six  months  gone 
with  calf.  This  cow  did  not  seem  stiff"  in  joints  or  weak  behind  previous  to  death. 
She  ate  heartily  up  to  4  o'clock  p.  m.  yesterday,  at  which  time  she  was  first  noticed 
tabe  sick.  She  died  during  the  night.  The  lesions  were  confined  to  the  breast  aud 
between  the  front  legs.  These  parts  were  very  much  inflamed  and  the  flesh  dark 
and  bloody.  No  discoloration  was  found  ou  hind  parts,  back,  paunch,  or  intestines. 
No  bloody  water  in  cavity.  The  liver  seemed  all  right,  but  the  manifold  was  baked. 
The  heart  was  clotted,  aud  the  lungs  discolored  and  congested. 

Mr.  A.  E.  Hall,  of  Fort  Meade,  Dak.,  writes  as  follows  concerning  the 
ravages  of  black -leg  in  that  locality  : 

A  disease  is  prevailing  among  cattle  in  this  county  called  black-leg.  I  examined 
two  animals  about  twelve  hours  after  death.  Upon  opening  the  body  the  blood 
seemed  almost  all  gone.  What  little  was  left  seemed  to  have  settled  between  the 
layers  of  flesh  and  tissues.  The  flesh  was  a  little  higher  colored  thau  beef.  The  first 
animal  had  a  swollen  shoulder,  and  when  rubbed  with  the  hand  emitted  a  crackling 
sound.  It  was  full  of  air-bubbles  immediately  under  the  skin.  The  last  stomach  was 
very  dry,  almost  baked.  The  small  intestines  leading  to  the  last  stomach  were  green 
or  the  distance  of  three  or  four  inches.  The  animals  show  diflerent  symptoms. 
Some  became  swollen  all  over,  some  in  one  leg,  and  some  not  at  all.  We  have  lost  about 
a  dozen  range  calves.  But  yearlings  are  not  exempt  from  the  disease,  and  sometimes 
(jows  are  attacked.     It  does  not  make  any  difference  as  to  whether  the  animals  are 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        293 

fixt  or  thin,  native  or  tborouglibred  stock.  Texas  animals  seem  to  be  exempt.  The 
disease  is  very  rapid  in  its  work.  An  animal  that  is  apparently  bealtby  and  very 
livelj^  in  the  evening  may  be  found  dead  the  next  morning.  Occasionally  one  may 
be  stupid  for  three  or  four  days,  but  as  a  rule  they  die  in  a  few  hours. 

There  is  also  a  disease  here  among  cattle  which  affects  their  feet.  The  foot  swells 
between  the  toes,  laming  the  animal.  In  the  worst  cases  the  leg  swells  as  high  as 
six  inches  above  the  ankle,  ulcerates,  and  exudes  a  white  matter.  Sometimes  tie 
llesh  protrudes  from  these  ulcerated  places.  It  generally  disappear.'^  of  its  own  accord, 
but  the  worst  cases  either  lame  for  life  or  kill  the  animal. 

Cattle  in  Siiline,  Mitchell,  Phillips,  Lincoln,  Ottawa,  and  other  coun- 
ties in  Kansas  suffered  severely  with  this  disease  during  the  past  sea- 
son. Mr.  Charles  E.  Faulkner,  of  Salina,  Ivans.,  writing  in  December 
last  to  lion.  J.  J.  Ingalls,  speaks  of  the  disease  as  being  wide  spread 
and  disastrous  in  the  counties  above  named.  The  following  extract  is 
made  from  Mr.  Faulkner's  letter,  which  was  kindly  forwarded  to  this 
Department  by  Senator  Ingalls  : 

Many  thanks  for  your  notice  of  my  communication  regarding  black-leg  among  cat- 
tle in  Kansas.  The  Department  seems  to  have  made  no  special  investigation  of  thie 
disease.  Losses  this  season  will  be  heavy  in  the  State.  Over  one  hundred  head  have 
died  in  this  county  (Saline)  during  the  last  three  mouths,  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 
Losses  from  Mitchell,  Phillips,  Lincoln,  and  Ottawa  are  reported.  I  hope  that  Con- 
gress will  aid  the  Department  in  instituting  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  subject, 
in  order  that  we  may  become  better  informed  of  tbe  nature  of  the  disease,  its  cause, 
and  preventive  measures. 

ContactIOUs  pleuro-pneumonia  in  iS'EW  Jeesey.— Dr.  William 
B.  E.  Miller,  of  Camden,  K.  J.,  writing  to  the  Department  under  date 
of  November  10  last,  says  : 

On  the  31st  ultimo  I  was  summoned  to  visit  a  herd  of  cattle  at  White  House. 
Readiugton  Township,  Hunterdon  County,  in  this  State.  On  the  Ist  instant!  exam- 
ined some  cattle  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  George  Clum.  Among  his  herd  of  about  60  cows 
I  found  several  infected  with  pleuro-pneumonia.  During  the  past  four  months  he 
lias  lost  2'i  head.  Soon  after  the  first  outbreak  in  the  herd  he  had  all  the  animals  in- 
oculated. On  another  farm  owned  by  Mr.  T.  W.  Pidcock,  autl  tenanted  by  Mr.  Charles 
Snyder,  near  Three  Bridges,  Hunterdon  County,  is  a  herd  of  6.")  cows.  About  the  first 
of  March  last  there  was  brought  from  Bradford  County,  Pennsylvania,  to  Farmington. 
K.  J.,  a  car-load  of  cows.  From  this  car-load  Messrs.  PidcockandSnyder  purchased  13 
head.  Ten  of  these  animals  were  put  on  their  farm  and  three  were  sentto  another  fawn. 
The  animals  then  upon  the  farm  were  neaily  all  inoculated.  Plenro-pneunu)nia  broke 
out  among  these  ten  new  arrivals,  and  soon  eight  had  died.  One  was  killed  for  the 
]>urpose  of  securing  virus  for  inoculation  purposes.  All  the  remaining  aninuiln  wej"e 
then  inoculated  a  second  time.  There  have  been  several  cases  on  the  farm  since,  but 
I  was  unable  to  get  the  exact  uumber  at  the  time  of  my  visitation.  Every  lot  of 
fresh  cattle  brought  on  the  place  since  have  immediately  been  inocul.ated,  but  out  of 
every  lot  one  or  two  animals  would  either  die  of  the  diseas*-  or  be  killed.  On  an- 
other place  occupied  l)y  Mr.  Peter  Pidcock,  where  thftro  had  never  liceiia  CHs»of,ooj] 
tagious  pl(!uro-i)neuuu)nia,  a  bull  was  brought  from  the  F.  N.  Pidcock  farm  that  had 
had  the  disease  but  was  supposed  to  have  recovered.  He  infected  this  herd  of  46  cows, 
and  8  animals  died  before  the  contagion  abated.  All  the  animals  were  inoculated  a« 
soon  as  the  disease  broke  out  among  them.  On  another  farm,  occupied  by  Mr.  W.  D. 
Ammerman,  8  or  10  animals  died  of  the  disease  during  the  sunnner  mouths.  There 
are  41  head  in  one  lot  and  29  in  another  on  this  farm.  All  have  been  inoculated. 
There  is  one  acute  case  now  on  this  farm.     The  animal  has  been  inoculated,  but  stil  I 


294  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

she  is  suffering  from  ;it:iite  pleuro-pneumonia.  Ou  still  another  farm,  owned  hy  Mr. 
Garret  C.  Gearhart,  six  animals  have  been  attacked  and  four  have  died.  All  the 
other  aniuiaLs  have  been  inoculated. 

Yon  will  observe  that  every  fresh  cow  brought  ou  to  these  places,  if  uot  soon  inocu- 
lated, suffered  with  pleuro-pueumouia,  and  that  while  inoculation  prevented  the  ani- 
mals on  the  farms  from  death,  the  disease  has  been  reproduced  in  every  fresh  lot  iu 
the  genuine  form,  killing  most  of  those  attacked. 

Cause  of  abortion  in  cows. — Mr.  Eobert  T.  Burbank,  proprietor  of 
Wbite  Mountain  Stock  Farm,  Sbelburne,  N.  H.,  writes  as  follows,  under 
date  of  March  24  last : 

In  1879  fourteen  of  my  herd  of  thirty-five  thoroughbred  cows  aborted.  During  the 
next  year  I  kept  strict  watch  over  them,  guarding  them  from  storms  in  summer  and 
keeping  them  dry  and  warm  in  winter,  iu  order  that  I  might  discover  the  cause  of 
the  trouble.  Notwithstanding  my  care  and  watchfulness,  five  of  the  animals  aborted 
the  following  year.  I  then  frequently,  with  the  greatest  care,  examined  my  hay 
fields.  In  two  of  these  fields  had  sx>ruug  up,  from  seed  I  had  purchased  for  high-grade 
Western  timothy,  a  rank  growth  of  wild  rye,  and  also  weeds  about  two  feet  high, 
resembling  what  is  sometimes  called  "  wild  strawberry."  The  seeds  of  these  weeds 
appeared  much  like  the  seeds  of  timothy.  I  gathered  some  of  the  weeds  and  sent 
them  to  the  seed  merohatit  of  whom  I  purchased  m^-  hay  seed,  stating  that  I  was  sat- 
isfied that  I  had  discovered  in  this  wild  rye  aud  its  seeds  the  cause  of  abortion  iu  my 
cows,  aud  requesting  him  to  have  the  seeds  examined  aud  report  the  result  to  me. 
He  treated  the  matter  with  such  indifference  that  I  have  since  ceased  to  purchase  of 
him. 

The  hay  cut  where  the  wild  rye  and  those  weeds  grew  iu  the  following  year  (1881) 
I  put  iu  my  young-cattle  barn,  and  did  not  allow  my  cows  to  eat  any  of  it.  I  have 
since  raised  nearly  all  mj-  own  hay  seed,  and  last  year  only  one  of  my  cows  aborted. 
This  year  all  have  escaped.  I  already  have  seventeen  beautiful,  healthy  calves. 
Their  dams  are  also  perfectly  healthy  and  in  good  condition.  Several  years  since  I 
expressed  the  opinion  that  there  must  be  something  in  the  hay  similar  to  ergot  that 
caused  this  mischief.  I  have  from  time  to  time  reported  these  facts  to  breeders  who 
have  called  upon  or  written  me  in  relation  to  abortion  in  their  herds,  and  several 
have  used  care  in  regard  to  hay  seeds  with  good  results. 

I  notice  that  the  veterinarians  employed  by  the  Government  to  investigate  the  out- 
break of  alleged  foot-and-mouth  disease  in  the  West  state  that  the  malady  is  not  the 
contagious  disease  it  was  supposed  to  be,  but  was  caused  by  ergot  iu  tbe  hay.  Now, 
if  ergot  in  the  hay  will  "  contract  the  blood-vessels  and  retard  circulation,'"  as  re- 
ported by  these  surgeons,  have  we  not  discovered  the  cause  of  abortion  in  cows  that 
eat  such  hay  ?  In  my  case  I  feel  quite  sure  that  I  have  discovered  a  cure,  viz.,  feed 
with  hay  free  from  ergot.  I  do  not  think  hay  seed  from  the  West  should  be  sold 
here  until  after  it  is  thoroughly  inspected. 

Tuberculosis.— Br.  J.  A.  Rice,  of  Liberty  Mills,  Orange  County, 
Virginia,  in  January  last  reported  the  following  cases  to  the  Depart- 
ment : 

Last  summer  a  young  steer  in  our  herd  that  had  been  improving  so  rapidly  as  to  be 
the  subject  of  remark  was  oue  day  found  apparently  suffering  with  rheumatism.  He 
continued  to  decline  uutil  sold.  I  afterwards  learned  that  ou  being  slaughtered  his 
inngs  were  found  very  much  diseased.  In  Octol)er  two  of  our  dairy  cows  (one  of 
them  very  fat)  were  taken  with  symptoms  very  similar  to  those  of  the  steer — sepa- 
rating themselves  frotn  the  herd,  stiff  in  the  shoulders  and  neck,  loss  of  appetite,  cos- 
iTiveness,  rapid  shrinking  in  their  milk,  no  cough,  and  no  symptoms  by  which  we  could 
diagnose  the  disease.  The  decline  has  continued  without  any  special  symptoms  ex- 
cept those  mentioned,  aside  from  a  great  shrinkage  in  flesh. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        295 

Yesterday  we  slaugbterccl  one  of  tlie  cows  to  see  if  we  could  not  find  the  cause  of 
the  disease.  We  found  the  heart  and  lungs  very  large  and  tilled  with  tubercles.  The 
omentum  felt  like  a  hard,  round  cord,  and  was  filled  with  tubercles,  in  fact  seemed  to  be 
one  tuberculous  mass.  We  found  the  liver,  spleen,  stomach,  and  intestines  all  healthy. 
In  cutting  into  the  tubercles  they  presented  more  of  a  sarcomatous  appearance  than 
of  true  tuberculosis.  Thinking  the  specimens  might  be  of  interest  to  your  veterina- 
rian, I  have  boxed  up  theluugs  and  omentum  arrd  forwarded  to  your  Department,  and 
would  be  glad  to  hear  the  result  of  the  examination.  These  cattle  were  all  bred  upon 
the  farm.  I  have  bred  their  ancestors  on  dam  side  for  more  than  thirty  years.  They 
were  superior  dairy  cattle,  of  fine  constitutions  and  remarkably  healthj.  I  never 
knew  one  of  them  ta  be  sick  before.  They  were  of  diflfereut  strains — the  sire  of  the 
cows  was  a  Mazurka  bull  by  Royal  Oxford,  of  the  steer  a  Miss  Kirby  cow  by  the 
Khenish  bull  Joe  Johnston.     If  this  is  true  tuberculosis,  how  did  it  originate  ? 

A  flay  or  two  later  (February  1)  Dr.  Rice  writes  as  follows  concerning 
tbe  second  cow : 

We  killed  the  other  cow  to-day,  and  found  such  a  growth  of  fungoid  matter  that  I 
hasten  to  send  specimens,  believing  they  will  aid  your  veterinarian  to  form  a  more 
correct  diagnosis  of  the  cases.  From  all  I  can  learn  about  the  steer,  he  presented 
similar  growths.  They  are  remarkable,  and  owing  to  the  previous  healthfulness  of 
the  animals,  and  that  of  their  ancestors  on  all  sides,  I  am  able  to  form  no  opinion  in 
the  premises.  You  will  find  myriads  of  small  fungi  growing  from  the  larger  ones — 
some  much  resembling  mushroom  growths.  The  lung  presented  very  much  the  con- 
dition of  the  one  we  forwarded  yesterday.  We  to-day  send  liver  entire,  its  preter- 
natural adhesions  to  midrilf  and  pectoral  coat  of  stomach  by  fungous  growth;  a  sec- 
tion of  rib  and  brisket,  showing  growth  of  fungi  to  the  inside  membrane  of  the  ribs  ; 
sections  of  lung,  peritoneal  covering  of  bowels,  omentum,  &c. ;  also  a  piece  of  stom- 
ach with  growth  growing  from  its  outside  coat.  All  of  the  interior  of  the  ribs  were 
covered  with  growths  such  as  specimens  represent,  and  many  with  dark  bodies  hang- 
ing attached  by  long,  narrow  necks  to  the  membrane  between  the  ribs,  resembling 
hydatids,  but  the  bodies  were  hard  and  iiesliy. 

There  has  never  been  any  cough  with  either  animal,  only  a  gradual  decline  with 
the  symi)toms  given  in  my  first  letter,  except  that  the  one  we  killed  to-day  was  taken 
a  day  or  two  ago  with  a  in'ofuse,  watery  diarrhea,  which  was  weakening  her  down 
rapidly. 

The  specimens  arrived  in  good  condition,  and,  after  examination  by 
tlie  veterinarian,  Dr.  Rice  was  informed  that  tbe  disease  with  which 
his  cattle  were  suffering  was  undoubtedly  tuberculosis.  He  was  coun- 
seled to  destroy  all  remaining  animals  showing  signs  of  the  malady, 
and  advised  to  thoroughly  disinfect  his  stables,  which  should  not  be 
again  occupied  for  a  year. 

Impaction  of  the  manifold. — Mr.  P.  H.  Powers,  of  Wicklifie,  Chirke 
County,  Virginia,  statistical  correspondent,  recently  lost  some  cattle  by 
a  disease  unknown  in  that  locality.  Under  date  of  February  18  last,  he 
wrote  the  Department  as  follows  : 

I  have  lost,  within  the  past  ten  days,  two  three-year-old  steers,  aflfected  similarly 
and  so  acutely  that  I  deem  it  proper  to  report  the  cases  to  the  Department.  When 
first  observed,  which  was  about  6  o'clock  a.  m.,  each  of  these  steers  seemed  suftering 
with  violent  itching  about  the  head,  particularly  along  the  jaw  and  around  the  eyes. 
So  violent  was  this  that  they  would  run  to  the  fence  or  posts  of  the  barn  and  rub  until 
the  whole  side  of  tLie  head  was  made  raw  and  bloody.  Accomjianying  this  itching 
•was  a  spasmodic  twitching  or  jerking  of  the  head  sideways  and  upward,  occurring 
•  constantly,  and  at  intervals  of  about  a  minute.     There  was  some  foam  about  the 


296  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

mouth.  So  acute  was  the  disease  that  each  animal  was  dead  in  less  than  ten  hours. 
No  other  symptoms  were  observed.  These  steers  were  in  good  condition.  One  was 
raised  on  the  farm,  and  the  other  bought  in  Chicago  in  November  last. 

Later,  on  February  25,  Mr.  Powers  again  wrote  the  Department  giv- 
ing additional  information  in  regard  to  the  progress  of  this  disease^ 
He  says : 

I  have  since  lost  auother  vei\y  fine  animal  with  symptoms  identical  with  the  others. 
Death  ensued  within  tweuty-tbur  hours.  Tliese  cattle  were  all  in  line  condition,  have 
been  well  cared  for  and  had  access  to  water,  and  were  fed  on  corn-fodder  and  wheat- 
straw.  In  fact,  the  management  has  been  the  same  that  I  have  given  my  stock 
cattle  in  the  winter  months  for  thirty  years.  The  dititiculty  seems  to  be  that  no  evi- 
dence of  disease  or  ailment  appears  which  is  noticeable  until  the  animal  is  in  extremis 
mortis,  when  all  remedies  would  seem  unavailing.  A  farmer  living  some  ten  miles 
from  me  in  this  county  has  lost,  I  understand,  some  seventeen  head  this  winter.  As 
soon  as  I  can  ascertain  the  facts  I  will  report  them. 

On  receipt  of  Mr.  Powers'  first  letter,  he  was  informed  by  the  veteri- 
narian of  the  Department  that  his  cattle  were  suffering  with  impaction 
or  obstruction  of  the  manifolds  from  eating  too  much  dry  food,  and  ad- 
vised to  give  full  (loses  of  purgatives  combined  with  stimulants. 

The  following  deaths  described  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Warren,  statistical  cor- 
respondent of  Rooks  County,  Kansas,  no  doubt  occurred  from  acute 
indigestion  or  impaction: 

One  of  my  neighbors  has  lost  six  head  of  cattle  within  the  past  ten  daj's.  They  died 
within  from  one  to  three  hours  after  the  first  symptoms  were  observed.  I  opeued 
four  of  them,  but  found  nothing  wrong  with  any  of  the  organs  except  the  stomach 
and  bowels.  The  inside  coatings  of  these  seemed  as  tliongh  badly  eaten  with  lye  or 
some  other  strong  substance.  There  was  very  little  blood,  and  around  the  stomach 
it  was  settled  in  black  clots.  A  foamy  froth,  resembling  thick,  slimy  soap-suds,  passed 
from  the  animal's  mouth  while  sutfering  from  the  disease.  Before  death  thej'  bloat 
badly.  All  the  animals  attacked  were  in  apparent  good  health  and  excellent  condi- 
tion up  to  the  time  the  first  symptoms  were  observed. 

Cattle  poisoned  by  vegetation. — Mr.  George  W.  Carleton, 
Gayoso,  Pemiscot  County,  Missouri,  writes  under  recent  date  as  fol- 
lows : 

Since  the  February  overtiow  of  the  Mississipi^i  Eiver,  a  great  many  cattle  have 
died,  especially  cows.  They  are  affected  with  weakness  in  the  loins,  break  down, 
drag  their  hind  legs,  fall  down  and  cannot  rise,  thrash  their  heads  upon  the  ground, 
and  die  within  two  hours  after  being  attacked.  I  assisted  in  the  dissection  of  a  two- 
year-old  heifer  that  died  within  an  hour  after  showing  symptoms  of  the  malady. 
Upon  opening  the  stomach  we  found  a  quantity  of  an  undigested  root  of  a  vine  that 
grows  in  great  abundance  here,  known  in  the  country  as  "cow  itch,"  trumpet-flower, 
or  cow-vine — Biynonia  radicans.  Near  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi  River,  where  the 
current  in  the  "back-water"  runs  very  strong,  the  soil  has  been  washed  oft'  and  the 
roots  of  this  vine  left  exposed,  and,  being  very  tender,  cattle  eat  them  ravenously. 
All  the  inner  coating  of  tlie  stomach  was  of  a  A'ery  dark  ])urph;  color ;  on  the  spleen 
were  found  a  few  parasitic  worms  ;  about  two  inches  square  of  the  spleen  was  inllauied 
and  appeared  to  have  been  perforated.  In  all  piobability  these  parasites  had  caused 
the  damage.  Upon  removing  the  skull  we  found  a  great  pressure  of  blood,  serum,  and 
water  on  the  brain.  This  was  no  doubt  caused  by  the  action  of  the  poisonous  roots 
found  in  the  stomach,  and  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  animals'  death.  Within 
the  last  ten  days  several  farmers  have  lost  valuable  cows,  and  all  of  them  have  eaten 
of  the  root  of  the  Bujnonia  radicans." 


1 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        297 

Mr.  J.  G.  Knapp,  Liinona,  Fla.,  who  is  the  statistical  agent  of  the 
Department  for  that  State,  forwards  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
addressed  to  him  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Heudsy,  of  Fort  Myers  (Caloosahatchee), 
Florida,  in  Ai)ril  last : 

Some  cattle  have  dropped  dead  in  this  locality,  number  not  known.  For  several 
years  cattle  have  died  here  from  this  unknown  cause.  So  far  the  cause  is  a  mystery. 
A  few  years  ago  one  thousand  or  more  animals  died  in  fat  condition.  All  ages  and 
sexes  were  alike  affected.  There  is  no  lingering  ;  apparently  as  sound  as  can  be  and 
in  a  minute  of  tiuje  lifeless.  It  is  not  contagious — prevails  only  in  certain  localities. 
I  have  dissected  the  animals  and  examined  carefully,  but  fouud  no  internal  evidence 
of  disorganization. 

Mr.  Knapp  adds  that  the  indications  are  that  some  very  active  veg- 
table  i^oison  is  the  cause.  Several  very  poisonous  plants  and  trees, 
such  as  the  Ilippomane  and  other  IJuphopbiace(e,  with  the  Rhus  meto- 
piinUj  grow  there. 

HORSES. 

Horses  poisoned  by  vegetation. — A  correspondent  at  San  An- 
tonio, Tex.,  informs  the  Department  that  there  have  been  heavy  losses 
of  horses  through  a  strip  of  country  where  the  live  oak,  red  and  post  oak, 
and  the  hickory  grow.  This  district  runs  through  Medina,  Atascosa, 
Bexar,  McMullen,  Live  Oak,  Wilson,  and  Frio  counties,  and  ends  about 
the  boundary  line  of  De  Witt.  The  land  in  this  district  is  generally  of  a 
sandy  nature,  and  does  not  i)roduce  a  vigorous  growth  of  any  variety  of 
grass,  though  it  is  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  on  an  average,  a  fair 
range  country.  At  this  time  of  year  (April)  there  is  little  grass  in  this 
district,  and  stock  have  been  subsisting  partially,  for  some  time,  on 
acorns,  to  the  eating. of  which  the  losses  of  horses  are  attributed.  Mr. 
Duck,  Mrs.  O'Brien,  and  others,  have  lost  quite  a  number  of  animals, 
and  it  is  reported  there  have  been  some  losses  in  W.  W.  Bobbins'  past- 
ure, where  stock  has  been  placed  for  fattening.  The  horses,  when  first 
attacked,  seem  to  be  drawn  together  as  if  in  loin  distemper,  and  appear 
to  suffer  greatly,  virtually  walking  on  the  tips  of  their  hind  hoofs.  Then 
they  gradually  pitch  forward,  fall  to  the  ground,  and  never  get  up  again. 
The  affliction  does  not  seem  to  have  any  relation  to  the  condition  of  the 
animal,  as  some  of  the  fattest  horses  in  the  country  have  fallen  a  prey 
to  the  malady.  Mares  seem  to  suffer  most.  Mr.  Duck  attributes  the 
losses  to  acorns,  which  are  not  only  wormy,  but  were  not  so  well  matured 
as  in  former  years.     Hogs,  however,  have  grown  very  fat  on  them. 

TeuRIBLE  DESTRUCTION  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  BY  BUFFALO  GNATS. — 

The  losses  of  farm  animals  last  spring  in  some  of  the  Southern  States 
from  the  irritation  and  poison  of  buffalo  gnats  were  very  heavy.  No 
deadly  contagious  disease  has  ever  caused  such  destruction  among  the 
herds  and  flocks  of  the  Southwest  as  have  these  poisonous  pests  during 
the  past  season.  Mr.  A.  F.  Osborn,  Winnsborough,  Franklin  Parish, 
Louisiana,  writing  to  the  Department  under  date  of  May  15  last,  says: 

Fullyone-half  of  all  the  farm  animalsof  thiHi)arisli  have  fallen  victims  tothe  poison 
impregnated  by  the  bite  of  the  l>utValo  gnats.     Horses,  mules,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs 


298  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

have  alike  snccumbed  to  the  scourge,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  abatement  except  in 
localities  where  the  material  to  act  njiou  has  disappeared  or  been  exhausted.  Some 
persons  have  lost  all,  others  two  thirds,  and  he  is  indeed  fortunate  who  has  saved 
half  his  stock.  The  dead  carcasses  lie  bloating  around  fields  and  on  highways,  and 
nothing — not  even  a  buzzard — will  touch  them.  The  stench  arising  from  these  putrid 
carcasses  is  almost  intolerable,  and  fears  are  entertained  that  a  pestilence  will  follow. 
On  the  22d  of  April  we  collected  jjartial  statistics  from  two  of  the  nine  wards  into 
•which  the  parish  is  divided.  As  far  as  we  were  able  to  ascertain  the  deaths  in  those 
two  wards  amounted,  at  that  date,  to  3,187.  Many  individuals,  in  handling  and  skin- 
ning the  animals,  have  been  poisoned.  Some  have  already  died,  others  will  probably 
die,  while  still  others  will  escape  with  the  loss  of  a  hand  or  an  arm. 

Mr.  Thomas  B.  Gilbert  writes  from  Oakley,  La.,  under  date  of  June 
29  last,  as  follows : 

About  the  middle  of  April  last  a  fatal  disease  broke  out  among  cattle,  horses,  mules, 
hogs,  and  sheep  in  this  pai'ish  (Franklin)  and  the  adjoining  parish  of  Richland.  It 
attacked  all  of  the  above-named  animals  almost  simultaneously,  making  its  appear- 
ance first  among  the  cattle  a  few  days  after  the  dreaded  buffalo  gnats  came  in.  The 
time  for  the  buffalo  gnats  to  make  their  appearance  here  varies  with  the  heat  or  cold 
of  winter.  They  came  earlier  in  1882  than  I  ever  knew  them  to  come  before — say, 
about  the  5th  of  March ;  but  the  usual  time  is  from  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  April.  This 
year  they  came  about  the  1st  of  April,  and  in  a  few  days  multiplied  into  millions; 
spreading  over  the  entire  country,  and  no  animal  could  survive  their  attacks  many 
hours  unless  protected  by  smoke.  They  have  a  great  aversion  to  smoke,  and  this  is 
the  only  protection  our  animals  have  from  their  ravages.  Work  animals  are  greased 
as  an  additional  protection.  The  gnats  were  more  numerous  this  year  than  common, 
but  not  more  so  than  they  were  in  1882.  In  this  parish  (a  small  one)  about  3,000  head 
of  horned  cattle  died  in  a  few  days,  and  about  300  head  of  horses  and  mules,  .5,000 
or  6,000  head  of  hogs,  and  as  many  sheep.  The  horses  and  mules  are  still  dying  at 
intervals.  In  these  the  disease  assumed  the  form  of  charbon  ;  it  did  the  same  with 
many  cattle;  and  what  is  singular,  the  only  cattle,  horses,  and  mules  that  recovered 
were  those  that  it  attacked  in  that  form.  All  those  attacked  in  the  other  form  of 
the  disease  (i.  e.,  without  external  swelling)  died.  Now,  what  could  have  occasioned 
this  dreadful  and  fatal  plague  among  our  domestic  animals?  The  disease  ajipeared 
in  a  belt  of  country,  say  25  miles  in  extent  from  north  to  south,  and  extended  at  least 
that  distance  east  and  west.  North  of  that  line  there  was  no  disease,  and  south  of  it 
there  was  none.  How  far  west  on  that  parallel  the  disease  extended  I  do  not  know. 
But  on  the  east  the  Bayou  Macon  was  the  line  of  demarcation. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  people  of  Franklin  and  Richland  parishes  have  lost  more 
than  $150,000  worth  of  cattle,  horses,  mules,  sheep,  and  hogs  from  this  fiital  disease. 
I  think  that  next  year  a  coujpetent  man  from  your  Department  ought  to  be  sent  into 
every  county  of  Arkansas  and  Mississippi,  and  into  every  parish  in  Louisiana  infested 
with  buffalo  gnats  to  study  tbeir  habits,  origin,  and  the  cause  of  the  disastrous  effect 
they  are  yearly  having  upon  the  inhabitants  and  the  domestic  animals  of  the  infested 
district.  This  pest  is  assuniing  such  alarming  proportions  as  to  threaten  the  depop- 
ulation and  abandonment  of  all  the  high-land  country  adjacent  to  or  bordering  upon 
the  overflowed  regions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  It  is  not  confined  to  the  valley 
proper,  but  the  highlands  contiguous  to,  and  for  many  miles  inland,  are  worse  cursed 
with  the  buffalo  gnats  than  the  lowlands  themselves.  I  was  born  and  raised  here, 
am  46  years  old,  and  never  saw  or  heard  of  the  pests  until  1865.  They  have  come 
with  the  annual  overflows  every  year  since,  and  their  ravages  are  so  far  extended  over 
this  region  of  country,  and  so  fatal  to  man  and  beast,  that  the  continued  occupation 
of  the  country  is  problematical.  Some  deaths  and  many  cases  of  charbon  have  occurred 
among  our  people,  both  black  and  white. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        299 

Various  remedies  aimd  preventives. — Mr.  Byrou  L.  Saunders, 
Turdy,  Tenn.,  writes  as  follows,  under  date  of  April  5,  last: 

The  new  disease  wliicli  lias  recently  made  its  appearance  among  cattle  in  Illinois 
and  Iowa  prevailed  among  my  cattle  last  winter  a  year  ago.  If  taken  in  time  it  is 
very  easy  to  manage.  Strong  apple  vinegar,  or  acetic  acid,  and  blood-root — a  strong 
decoction  or  tincture,  applied  three  times  a  day  will  cure  it. 

For  swine  plague  and  fowl  cholera:  Equal  parts  of  soda,  alum,  and  copperas,  and 
-one-tenth  part  of  blue  vitriol.  To  prevent  the  plague,  feed  mandrake  to  the  animals 
in  their  slop. 

For  murrain  in  cattle,  Spanish  fever,  and  intlammation  of  the  liver  :  One-half  cup 
of  lobelia  seed,  IJ  cup  of  blood-root,  i  cup  mandrake,  1  cup  wild-cherry  bark,  2  cups 
dog-fennel  blossoms,  a  piece  of  garget,  or  poke-root,  the  size  of  a  small  hen's  egg,  to 
■which  add  one  gallon  of  water  and  boil  down  to  one  pint  and  a  half  of  solution.  This 
is  a  dose  for  a  grown  animal,  and  if  given  in  time  will  generally  effect  a  cure  in  the 
above-named  diseases. 

Mr.  L.  A.  Cook,  Milledgeville,  Ga.,  states  that  twenty-five  drops  of 
tincture  of  aconite  given  when  symptoms  are  first  observed  is  almost 
an  infallible  remedy  in  any  form  of  colic.  He  has  never  known  it  to 
fail,  and  says  that  a  second  dose  is  rarely  necessary.  He  regards  it  as 
the  simplest  and  surest  of  all  remedies. 

HOGS. 

Breeds  and  sanitary  condition. — Mr.  Henry  C.  Mosely,  Law- 
rence, Kans.,  regards  our  present  breed  of  hogs  and  their  sanitary 
condition  all  that  could  be  desired.  He  writes  to  the  Department  as 
follows : 

I  have  traveled  for  fifteen  years  in  the  great  hog-producing  regions  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  and  have  therefore  no  hesitancy  in  declaring  that  the  sanitary  condition 
of  swine  is  now  better  than  at  any  period  in  the  past  twenty  years.  And  why  ?  Be- 
cause the  swine  producers  are -provided  with  acclimatized  and  better  breeding  ani- 
mals, and  are  not  now  introducing  new  stock,  which  the  farmers  all  admit  has  been 
one  of  the  most  prolific  causes  of  disease.  The  most  extensive  swine  producers  now 
allow  their  animals  to  range  in  pastures  during  the  summer  months;  feed  them  less 
corn  ;  provide  more  and  better  water ;  are  watching  them  more  closely,  and  gradually 
reducing  the  rearing  of  this  class  of  animals  to  a  science.  The  American  hog  is  now, 
in  my  humble  opinion,  all  right,  and  the  way  to  continue  its  prosperity  is  for  the 
non-swine  producers  to  adopt  the  non-intervention  policy,  or  hands  oil',  and  leave  it 
where  it  now  is,  at  the  front. 

Effects  of  feeding  sweet  potatoes. — Mr.  J.  G.  Knapp,  statis- 
tical correspondent  for  the  State  of  Florida,  writes  as  follows  under 
date  of  April  10  last : 

Allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  a  remark  made  by  J.  M.  Strickland,  my  corre- 
spondent from  Putnam  County,  which  is  new  to  me.     He  says: 

"  It  is  thought  that  feeding  potatoes  (to  hogs)  during  winter  is  the  cause  of  chol- 
era. Last  year  I  lost  all  the  hogs  that  I  put  on  my  potato  ground,  and  this  wiuter 
they  came  off  in  poor  condition,  with  a  loss  of  2.")  per  cent." 

Potatoes  here  mean  the  sweet  potato,  Batata  cdttlis.  The  hogs  are  placed  in  the 
grounds  to  root  for  those  that  are  left  after  tlie  crop  is  dug.     These  potatoes  remain 


300         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

sound  in  the  groiuifl  dnriujjj  the  wiutor,  as  there  is  not  frost  sufficient  in  many  portions 
of  the  State  to  destroy  them  if  disconnected  with  the  vines.  Can  there  be  anything 
in  these  potatoes  to  produce  cholera  ? 

Cholera  or  swiue  plague  is  a  purely  contagious  disease,  aud  can  only 
be  communicated  to  the  animal  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  virus. 
Possibly  sweet  potatoes  might  render  hogs  more  susceptible  to  the  dis- 
ease than  some  other  kind  of  diet. 

Swine  plague  in  Arkansas. — Mr.  Felix  G.  Davis,  of  Grand  Lake, 
Chicot  County,  Ark.,  writes  as  follows  under  date  of  March  5: 

Through  the  kindness  of  Senator  Garland  and  Hon.  P,  Dunn,  of  this  State,  I  have 
received  three  copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  18S3,  two  of 
which  I  distributed  to  my  neiglibors.  I  think  a  copy  ought  to  be  in  tlie  hands  of 
every  intelligent  farmer.  The  reports  on  swiue  plague,  chicken  cholera,  and  charbou 
are  of  great  interest  to  us,  especially  the  report  on  swiue  plague,  or  cholera,  as  it  is 
vulgarly  termed.  On  this  Isle  of  the  Swamps,  or  Masou  Hills,  as  it  is  called,  we  are 
now  being  visited  by  this  hog  disease  to  an  alarming  extent.  Fine  stock  hogs  that  in 
January  were  fat  and  healthy  are  now  dying  on  every  farm,  and  those  left  are  gener- 
ally poor  in  flesh.  Being  deprived  of  their  usual  range  by  an  overflow  of  the  swamps 
has  no  doubt  had  much  to  do  with  the  spread  of  the  disease. 

SHEEP. 

jSTew  DISEASE  AMONG  LAMB. — Some  months  ago  Mr.  G.  W.  Marshall, 
Eckley,  Carroll  County,  Ohio,  wrote  as  follows  concerning  a  disease 
which  at  that  time  was  destroying  a  great  many  spring  lambs  in  that 
locality: 

We  have  a  strauge  disease  among  our  spring  lambs  here  this  spring  that  I  think 
should  be  investigated  by  the  Department.  They  die  when  they  are  from  three  to  five 
weeks  old.  Apparently  the  very  best  lambs  iu  the  flocks  will  be  well,  as  far  as  you 
can  see,  in  the  morning,  and  by  night  will  be  dead.  They  act  as  though  they  had 
spasms  or  fits.  We  have  lost  six,  and  some  farmers  have  lost  as  high  as  thirty  or  forty 
this  year.  It  is  not  in  all  flocks,  just  here  and  there.  Sometimes  you  will  find  five  or 
six  lying  dead  at  a  time.  I  hear  of  it  in  places  all  over  the  county.  We  cannot  tell 
what  the  disease  is,  nor  have  heard  of  any  remedy  for  it.  Some  claim  they  get  too 
much  milk;  others  say  that  is  not  the  trouble.     Some  call  it  lamb  cholera. 

In  answer  to  a  letter  of  inquiry  asking  for  further  information  as  to 
the  symptoms  of  the  disease  and  the  post  mortem  appearances  of  the 
animals  that  had  died  of  it,  Mr.  Marshall  writes : 

No  more  lambs  have  died  since  receiving  your  note,  hence  I  have  had  no  chance  to 
make  a  post  mortem  examination.  However,  a  neighbor  says  he  examined  several, 
and  there  appeared  to  be  water  about  the  heart,  an  unusual  amount ;  the  gall  ap- 
peared dark  and  slender,  as  though  rolled  up  ;  stomach  and  other  parts  all  right,  as 
far  as  he  knew.  The  lamb  when  first  observed  seems  entirely  helpless.  It  then  has 
spells  as  though  aff"ected  with  a  fit ;  plunges  about,  works  its  ears  and  mouth,  rolls 
its  eyes  and  froths  at  the  mouth.  The  animals  generally  attacked  are  from  three  to 
six  weeks  old,  and  are  usually  those  in  the  best  condition.  They  live  from  six  to 
twelve  houi's  after  the  first  symptoms  of  the  disease  are  observed.  We  took  our  ewes 
off"  good  blue-grass,  white  clover,  and  timothy  pasture  and  put  thorn  in  a  woods  pas- 
ture, after  which  wo  lost  no  more  lambs.  My  observation  has  been  that  the  lambs 
that  have  died  have  been  those  that  have  had  the  greatest  amount  of  milk  from  their 
mothers. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        301 

A  FATAL  LOCAL  DISEASE.— A  fatal  disease,  whicli  is  no  doubt  local 
iu  its  character,  is  described  as  follows  by  Mr.  L.  F.  Diipron,  living 

near  Savannah,  Ga. : 

A  disease  is  prevailing  here  among  sheep  which  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  animals 
feedin<r  on  the  seaboard.  The  principal  symptom  is  a  swelling  on  the  under  jaw. 
The  swelling  contains  a  hot,  watery  fluid  ;  if  opened  and  the  fluid  discharged  it  will 
soon  fill  again  with  increased  heat  over  the  afl-ected  part.  Diarrhea  sets  in,  which  is 
soou  followed  by  death."  Sheep  over  three  years  old  frequently  die  before  diarrhea 
occurs.  The  disease  is  most  fatal  to  lambs,  though  I  have  known  but  two  recoveries 
out  of  hundreds  of  animals  attacked.  Sheep  grazed  in  woods  pastures  seem  as  liable 
to  the  disease  as  those  grazed  in  the  salt  marshes. 


GENERAL  CONDITION  OF  FARM  ANIMALS,  1883. 


Barhour. — I  have  uot  heard  of  the  prevalence  of  any  diseases  among  hogs  and  sheep 
during  the  year,  and  there  has  been  no  epidemic  among  either  Jiorses,  mules,  or  cattle^ 
I  estimate  the  value  of  all  animals  lost  by  disease  at  $8,170 — except  fowls — being  my 
estimate  of  increase  on  the  census  of  1880.  Our  State  has  established  a  department 
of  agriculture,  and  will  hereafter  require  statistics  gathered  by  the  county  assessors. 

Bibh. — Some  cholera  has  occurred  among  hogs  and  fowls,  and  not  among  sheep,  but 
the  aggregate  losses  cannot  be  given.  No  stock-breeding  here  of  any  consequence. 
Nothing  would  pay  better  than  the  breediug  of  large  draft  horses,  and  heavy  im- 
proved cattle  for  beef.     The  range  for  stock  is  good  for  nine  months  in  the  year. 

Blount. — I  estimate  the  value  of  losses  among  farm  animals  and  fowls  in  this  county 
durino'  the  year,  by  disease,  as  follows:  Horses,  $3,500;  cattle,  $.5,400;  hogs,  $3,000* 
sheei),  $375;  fowls,  $500;  being  a  total  of  $12,675.  This  statement  is  derived  from 
knowledo'e  obtained  from  many  citizens  of  the  county.  Horses  and  mules  have  been 
afflicted  with  no  special  complaint.  Hogs  have  died  from  cholera,  neglect,  and  lice. 
A  few  sheep  have  died  from  rot,  but  a  great  many  have  been  killed  by  dogs.  The 
loss  caused  by  these  animals  is  not  included  in  the  above. 

Bullock. — Hogs  and  fowls  are  almost  always  affected  by  so-called  cholera.  The  only 
disease  incident  to  cattle  is  hollow-horn.  Mules  frequently  die  of  colic,  and  horses  of 
bots  and  gravel.  Not  one  horse  in  a  hi^ndred  dies  of  epizooty  when  it  comes  aroundr 
but  at  least  10  per  cent,  of  the  mules  succumb  to  it.  It  has  always  been  brought 
here  bv  traveling  showmen.  We  have  no  fatal  disease  among  sheep.  I  have  lived  at 
this  place  since  1672,  and  have  never  lost  a  fowl  of  any  kind  by  cholera  or  any  other 
disease  and  we  have  some  hens  that  are  known  to  be  fifteen  years  old.  My  wife  has 
lived  here  over  thirty  years,  and  says  there  has  never  been  any  disease  among  poul- 
try since  she  can  remember.  We  have  no  fowl-house  ;  our  chickens  roost  in  trees,  and 
we  never  allow  them  to  roost  in  the  same  tree  more  than  three  mouths  at  a  time. 
Year  before  last  a  niece  of  my  wife  lost  all  her  chickens,  and  asked  my  wife  to  give 
her  a  start  ao^ain.  We  did  so,  and  furnished  her  with  five  hens  and  a  rooster.  Those 
fowls  were  carried  a  distance  of  9  miles,  and  in  less  than  a  week's  time  they  all  died- 

Choctaw. There  have  been  some  losses  among  farm  animals,  occasioned  by  disease, 

but  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  give  auything  like  accurate  data.  There  have  been,  to 
my  knowledge,  several  cases  of  glanders  among  horses  and  mules.  Those  cases  that 
came  under  my  observation  were  not  treated  by  "veterinarians,  but  were  neglected 
and  the  animals  allowed  to  die. 

Clarke. From  my  own  personal  knowledge  and  the  best  information  I  have  been 

able  to  obtain,  I  am  able  to  state  that  no  epidemic  of  any  kind  has  visited  the  farm 
animals  of  this  county  during  the  present  year. 

Chillon.— It  is  very  seldom  that  disease  of  any  kiud  ever  prevails  to  any  extent 
amon""-  farm  animals  in  this  county.  Horses  and  cattle  usually  die  of  old  age.  About 
fifty  sheep  were  killed  by  dogs  during  the  past  year. 

Coffee.— Qaita  a  destructive  disease  prevailed  among  chickens  last  spring.  Seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  young  chicks  died  of  it.  The  disease  was  thought  to  be  caused 
by  mites.  There  has  been  no  marked  disease  of  any  kind  among  stock.  Several 
valuable  horses  and  mules  have  died,  some  from  staggers  and  some  from  colic.  Hogs 
have  done  well  and  are  still  doing  well  where  they  have  been  properly  fed.  Our  peo- 
302 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        303 

pie  are  turniDg  their  attention  to  the  finer  breeds  of  hogs.  Hog  cholera  has  not  pie- 
Tailed  to  any  considerable  extent  this  year,  though  at  least  50  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  of 
the  county  died  of  it  last  year.  It  has  been  prevalent  in  several  neighborhoods  in 
adjoining  counties  the  past  season.  Stoclc  comes  to  tine  perfection  in  this  county,  and 
sheep- raising  is  very  easy  and  of  great  profit.  The  largest  mule  in  the  State  was  bred 
and  is  still  owned  by  Col.  Thomas  Patents,  of  this  county. 

Coosa. — No  disease  of  a  destructive  character  has  prevailed  during  the  year  among 
either  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  Cholera  has  destroyed  33J  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  of 
the  countj'.     I  cannot  give  the  number  of  domestic  animals  in  the  county. 

Crenshaw. — There  has  been  no  disease  of  any  kind  among  our  farm  animals  for  the 
j>ast  two  years. 

Cullman. — Hogs  are  more  subject  to  disease  in  this  county  than  any  other  class  oz 
farm  animals.  However,  but  slight  losses  have  occurred  from  disease  among  any 
class  of  stock  during  the  past  year. 

Dallas. — The  value  of  horses  lost  by  disease  during  the  year  I  think  will  amount  to 
about  |!5,000.  I  estimate  the  number  of  hogs  in  the  county  at  25,000.  Fifteen  hun- 
dred of  these  have  been  affected  by  disease.  Of  the  number  thus  attacked  I  think  20 
per  cent,  have  died.     The  losses  among  other  classes  have  been  very  light. 

Fayette. — The  only  diseases  that  have  prevailed  to  any  considerable  extent  amono- 
farm  animals  in  this  county  the  past  year  have  been  rot  and  scab  among  sheep.  A 
great  niauy  fowls  have  died  of  a  fatal  disease  called  cholera. 

Franklin. — With  the  excej)tion  of  a  few  cases  of  epizooty  the  health  of  horses  has 
been  good.  No  fatal  cases  have  occurred.  Sheep  are  also  in  good  health.  Cholera 
has  prevailed  among  hogs  and  fowls,  and  about  all  those  attacked  have  died.  I  can- 
not give  the  number  of  farm  animals  in  the  county. 

Geneva. — Sheep  valued  at  something  like  $700  have  been  lost  the  past  year  from 
various  causes.  No  widespread  disease  of  any  kind  has  prevailed  among  our  stock 
during  the  year. 

Hall. — The  diseases  that  have  prevailed  among  our  farm  stock  this  year  are  com- 
mon, and  such  as  are  oftentimes  occasioned  by  neglect  and  ill  treatment.  Sheep  die 
of  a  lingering  disease  called  rut  by  some,  which  is  regarded  as  incurable.  Ho"-s  die 
of  cholera,  a  disease  which  is  also  regarded  as  incurable. 

Henry. — No  widespread  disease  of  any  kind  has  prevailed  either  among  our  farm 
animals  or  fowls  during  the  current  year.  Some  few  horses  have  died,  but  I  believe 
the  loss  was  occasioned  more  from  bad  treatment  than  disease.  A  gr'eat  many  hof^s. 
have  been  raised  in  the  county  within  the  last  twelve  months. 

Lauderdale. — I  can  give  you  no  definite  idea  as  to  the  number  of  farm  animals  in 
the  county.     A  few  cases  of  cholera  among  hogs  have  been  reported. 

Lawrence. — Hog  cholera  has  been  very  destructive  in  this  section  this  year  having 
destroyed  five-sixths  of  this  class  of  stock.  Chicken  cholera  has  also  prevailed. 
Blind-staggers  has  been  verj'  fatal  to  horses  and  mules.  I  think  the  value  of  our 
losses  for  each  class  has  been  about  as  follows:  Horses  and  mules,  $2,360,-  cattle 
$1,000;  hogs,  $;i7, 500 ;  sheep,  |150;  chickens,  $1,500. 

Limestone. — I  cannot  procure  the  data  you  desire.  There  has  been  no  unusual  sick- 
ness among  farm  animals  the  past  year.  Last  year  many  farmers  fed  shelled  corn  to 
their  stock  without  hay,  and  the  result  was  the  loss  of  a  good  many  animals. 

Macon. — There  has  been  no  destructive  disease  among  horses  or  other  classes  of  do- 
mestic animals  for  the  past  year  or  so.  What  is  known  as  cholera  lias  been  very  de- 
structive to  fowls.     It  is  a  very  common  disease,  especially  among  chickens. 

Mobile. — No  disease  of  a  malignant  character  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  the  past  year.  A  few  cases  of  catarrhal  fever  have  occurred  amou"-  horses 
and  mules  brought  from  the  west  and  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  out  thej*  were  at- 
tended with  no  fatality. 

Monroe. — The  value  of  farm  animals  and  fowls  lost  in  this  county  by  disease  the 
present  year  is  between  $0,000  and  $7,000,  distril)uted  among  the  different  classes  as 
follows:  Horses,  $;^,750;  cattle,  $2.000 ;  hogs,  $100;  sheep,  $300;  fowls,  $50. 


304  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

I'ike. — Domestic  auiuials  in  tliis  couuty  have  beea  remaikably  healthy  this  year. 
No  disease  of  au  epidemic  character  has  prevailed  among  either  horses,  mules,  cattle, 
or  sheep.  Cholera  amoug  hogs  has  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  over  an  area  of 
eight  or  ten  square  miles,  but  the  loss  would  not  probably  exceed  two  per  cent,  of  the 
hogs  in  the  couuty.     Cholera  has  also  prevailed  to  a  like  extent  among  chickens. 

JiuaseU. — The  onl3-  serious  loss  occasioned  among  farm  animals  by  disease  in  this 
county  the  present  year  has  been  occasioned  by  cholera  among  hogs.  Carbolic  acid 
when  given  according  to  directions  recommended  by  your  Department,  has  proved  a 
a  very  efficient  preventative,  and  somewhat  of  a  remedy. 

Sumter, — But  little  disease  of  any  kind  has  prevailed  among  farm  stock  the  past 
year.     More  animals  have  died  from  poverty  and  bad  treatment  than  from  disease. 

Talladega. — Farm  stock  has  been  unusually  healthy  the  past  year.  Although  hogs 
and  poultry  are  never  entirely  free  from  cholera,  the  disease  has  not  prevailed  as  an 
epidemic  this  year.  A  disease  more  fatal  than  cholera  has  prevailed  amoug  poultry, 
having  killed  on  two  farms  near  us  all  the  turkeys  and  ducks  and  about  all  the  chick- 
ens.    The  symptoms  are  paralysis  of  the  limbs  and  neck.     None  attacked  recovered. 

Wilcox. — There  has  been  no  prevailing  disease  among  horses  this  year.  Cattle  have 
also  remained  healthy.  Cholera  among  hogs  and  fowls  has  prevailed  to  a  considera- 
ble extent,  and  has  proved  quite  fatal. 

ARKANSAS. 

Arkansas. — Horses  and  cattle  have  been  afflicted  to  some  extent  with  diseases  inci- . 
dent  to  them  during  the  year.     The  value  of  horses  lost  will  uot  exceed  $2,000. 
Disease  carried  olf  cattle  to  the  value  of  perhaps  $1,600,  and  hogs  probably  to  the 
value  of  $1,000. 

Baxter. — A  disease  generally  kuown  as  blackleg  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among 
cattle.  It  is  generally  very  fatal.  Perhaps  100  head,  valued  at  $1,000,  have  been 
lost  by  the  disease.  About  •'SO  head  of  horses  have  died  during  the  year  from  disease 
and  other  causes. 

Calhoun, — An  unknown  disease,  causing  blindness,  prevailed  among  our  cattle. 
Sometimes  it  affects  but  one  eye,  at  others  both,  causing  complete  blindness.  Those 
that  were  affected  last  year  are  still  blind  and  show  no  signs  of  improvement.  Chick- 
en cholera  carries  oft"  about  30  per  cent,  of  our  fowls  every  year. 

Cratvford. — The  only  epidemic  disease  that  has  prevailed  in  this  county  has  been 
among  hogs  and  fowls.  In  one  locality  a  number  of  hogs  have  died  with  what  is 
supposed  to  be  cholera.  They  included  all  ages.  The  value  of  the  losses  will  reach 
$1,000.  Upon  inquiry  I  have  found  two  farms  on  which  chickens  have  been  lost  by 
cholera.  One  farmer  tells  me  that  his  chickens  commence  dying  as  soon  as  his  flock 
increases  to  200  or  more.     Cattle  and  horses  are  very  healthy. 

Craighead. — I  hear  of  no  complaint  of  the  prevalence  of  disease  among  farm  ani- 
mals except  that  of  cholera  among  hogs.  I  think  the  loss  will  reach  one-third  of  this 
class  of  animals  in  the  county.  But  for  this  disease  we  would  have  had  pork  to  ex- 
port. 

Dorset/. — Cattle,  hogs,  sheep,  and  fowls  have  been  unusually  healthy  this  year,  no 
destructive  disease  having  appeared  among  them.  A  considerable  number  of  horses 
have  been  afl'ected  with  blind-staggers.     All  those  attacked  have  died. 

Drew  — There  has  been  no  disease  of  auy  kind  aff"ecting  farm  stock  in  this  county 
the  past  year.  The  number  of  hogs  in  the  county  has  increased  perhaps  50  per  cent. 
Cholera  has  prevailed  among  chickens  to  some  extent. 

Franklin. — No  contagious  epidemic  has  occurred  among  either  horses  or  cattle  the 
past  year.  A  horse  has  occasionally  died  of  hots,  blind-staggers,  and  colic.  Cholera 
has  prevailed  among  hogs,  but  not  to  any  great  extent.  Cholera  has  also  appeared 
in  a  limited  degree  among  fowls. 

Garland. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  of  any  kind  amoug  our  stock  this  year,  hence 
the  losses  have  been  light. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        305 

Grant. — The  only  losses  th.at  liave  occurred  from  disease  among  onr  farm  animals 
during  the  past  year  have  been  confined  to  hogs,  and  the  aggregate  has  been  so  small 
that  it  is  hardly  worth  recording. 

Hempstead. — No  serious  disease  has  prevailed  among  horses,  mules,  cattle,  and  sheep 
in  this  county  during  the  yeai'.  Quite  a  number  of  hogs  have  died  from  the  usual 
diseases. 

Marion. — No  contagious  or  epidemic  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  our  farm  stock 
the  past  year.     This  is  a  fine  county  for  farm  animals,  and  they  are  usually  healthy. 

Mississippi. — We  have  been  very  fortunate  with  our  farm  animals  the  past  year. 
We  have  had  no  disease  of  any  kind  among  them. 

Montgomery.— Horaes  have  not  been  afflicted  with  any  disease  of  consequence  the 
past  year.  Cattle  and  sheep  are  always  healthy.  A  few  hogs  have  died,  and  a  few 
chickens  have  been  lost  by  the  usual  diseases. 

Newton. — So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  I  can  state  that  stock  of  all  kinds  in 
this  county  is  in  a  healthy  condition.  There  has  been  no  unusual  sickness  among  any 
class  of  farm  animals  for  the  past  two  years. 

P/ii/^i>8.— Horses  and  mules  valued  at  perhaps  $6,000  have  died  during  the  year, 
but  in  most  cases  the  losses  were  occasioned  by  abuse  and  bad  treatment  on  the  part 
of  laborers.  The  value  of  the  losses  among  cattle  will  reach  about  $2,000,  and 
that  among  hogs  between  .$600  and  $700.  A  great  many  more  sheep  are  annually  killed 
by  dogs  than  die  of  disease.  The  average  quality  of  all  farm  animals  in  this  county 
is  low. 

Pope. — The  greatest  loss  we  have  sustained  from  disease  has  been  from  cholera 
among  hogs  and  fowls.  Perhaps  $5,000  will  cover  the  losses  among  hogs,  and  $500 
the  losses  occasioned  among  fowls. 

Poinsett. — Neither  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  nor  fowls  have  been  visited  by  any 
epidemic  disease  for  the  past  twelve  months.  We  suffered  heavy  losses  from  hog  chol- 
era in  the  year  1882.     It  was  estimated  that  fully  25,000  died  that  year  in  this  county. 

Prairie. — We  have  had  to  contend  against  no  disease  among  our  farm  animals  the 
past  year.  Fowls  have  been  afdicted  to  some  extent,  but  I  presume  $200  would  cover 
the  losses. 

Pulaski. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals,  including  fowls,  have  been  very  healthy  tha 
past  year. 

Saline. — Animals  of  all  kinds  in  this  county  maintained  unusually  good  health  iu 
1882,  and  I  have  no  epidemic  to  record  as  having  prevailed  among  any  class  the  pres- 
ent year. 

Sharj}. — No  disease  worthy  of  being  reported  has  occurred  among  hogs,  sheep,  or 
fowls  in  this  county  for  several  years.  Some  five  or  six  cattle  have  died  in  one  sec- 
tion of  the  county  within  the  past  fortnight,  with  a  disease  resembling  dry  murrain. 
The  disease,  whatever  it  is,  is  not  spreading. 

CALIFORNIA. 

Amador. — For  three  months  past  an  epidemic  has  raged  among  cattle  iu  this  county. 
The  disease  is  black-leg.  It  attacks  those  of  the  j^oung  stociv  iu  the  best  condition, 
particularly  those  pastured  iu  the  Sierras  during  the  summer.  All  attacked  die. 
The  exact  number  that  have  been  lost  cannot  be  ascertained.  Two  of  my  neighbors 
have  lost  12  or  15  head  each.  No  doubt  not  less  than  100  have  died.  Their  average 
value  would  be  about  $15. 

Calaveras. — I  estimate  the  value  of  farm  animals  lost  by  disease  in  this  county  the 
past  year  as  follows:  Horses,  $6,000;  cattle,  $7,500;  swine,  nominal;  sheep,  $2,000. 
The  principal  disease  among  sheep  is  scab. 

Contra  Costa. — Horses  have  suffered  to  some  extent  from  i)neumonia  and  epizooty, 
and  cattle  from  big-head  or  rotten-jaw.  A  good  many  fowls  arc  lost  from  a  disease 
supposed  to  be  enlargement  of  the  liver.     Stock  generally  seem  to  be  iu  good  health. 

Placer. — The  only  disease  that  has  att'ected  any  class  of  farm  auimala  the  past  year 
has  been  scab  among  sheep.     The  losses  from  this  cause  have  been  light. 
5751  D  A 20 


306         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Plumas. — As  regards  diseases  of  cattle,  the  ouly  tiling  we  have  suffered  from  lias 
been  black-leg.  Ouly  young  cattle — calves  aud  yearliugs — have  been  attacked  by 
this  disease.     The  mortality  has  been  greatest  among  thoroughbred  stock. 

San  Diego. — The  .most  fatal  disease  among  horses  can  hardly  be  exijlained.  When 
they  run  out  they  eat  what  is  known  as  the  "crazy-weed,"  from  the  elfects  of  which 
many  of  them  die.  Black-leg  has  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  among  cattle. 
The  losses  have  been  heavier  this  year  than  ever  before.  Hogs  have  suffered  some, 
but  not  to  the  extent  of  other  classes  of  animals.  It  has  been  rather  an  unfavorable 
year  for  sheep.     Fowls  have  sufiered  with  all  the  diseases  incident  to  them. 

Solano. — There  are  no  prevailing  or  contagious  diseases  among  any  of  the  domestic 
animals  in  this  county,  and  there  are  no  losses  to  record  other  than  those  that  might 
be  expected  where  such  animals  are  ordinarily  healthy. 

Ventura. — Farm  animals  have  been  very  healthy  in  this  county  the  past  year. 
Sheep  are  the  only  animals  that  have  been  affected,  and  the  value  of  the  losses  in  this 
class  will  reach  -15,000  or  $6,000. 

Ynha. — Perhaps  $3,000  will  cover  the  value  of  losses  among  aU  kinds  of  farm  ani- 
mals in  this  county  during  the  past  year  from  the  various  diseases  which  affect  them. 

COLORADO. 

Center. — There-is  not  now,  nor  has  there  been  for  the  past  two  years,  any  disease  of 
a  general  character  among  the  farm  stock  or  fowls  of  this  county. 

Mesa. — All  farm  stock  has  been  remarkably  healthy  the  past  year ;  no  disease  what- 
ever.    Can  hear  of  no  losses,  except  by  accident. 

Larimer. — No  disease  of  any  kind  prevails  among  farm  stock  in  this  county.  lean- 
not  learn  of  the  loss  ot  any  animal  by  disease  during  the  year. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Fairfiild. — I  give  the  value  of  the  losses  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  year 
as  follows:  Horses,  $5,000;  cattle  $2,500;  hogs,  $300;  sheep,  $750;  and  fowls,  $1,000. 

Litchfield. — I  suppose  20  per  cent,  of  the  horses  in  this  county  were  afflicted  the  past 
year  with  colic,  distemper,  or  more  serious  diseases,  and  that  one-third  of  those  so 
afflicted  died.  Ten  ])er  cent,  of  our  cattle  have  suffered  with  murrain,  milk  fever, 
tuberculosis,  and  lung  worm  in  calves.  About  one-half  of  those  attacked  died.  Hogs 
die  of  surfeit,  cholera,  &c.  About  all  die  that  are  attacked  by  disease.  Sheep  have 
been  afflicted  with  lung  worm,  tuberculosis,  &c.,  and  fowls  with  cholera,  roupe,  and 
gapes.  I  give  the  following  estimate  of  the  value  of  our  losses  for  the  past  year,  viz  : 
Horses,  $25,000;  cattle,  $81,000;  hogs,  $10,000;  sheep,  $975;  fowls,  $4,500. 

Netv  London. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  of  any  kind  among  our  domestic  animals 
that  has  proved  generally  fatal ;  simply  pink-eye  among  horses,  and  distemjier  to 
some  extent  among  fowls.     The  losses  have  been  comparatively  light. 

Tolland. — But  few  losses  have  occurred  in  this  county  by  sickness  among  farm 
animals.     The  cases  that  occur  are  of  the  usual  maladies. 

Windltam. — Farm  animals  in  this  county  have  been  unusually  free  from  all  kinds  of 
diseases  during  the  past  year. 

DELAWARE. 

New  Castle. — Horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  now  enjoy  an  entire  exemption  from 
epidemics,  aud  the  returns  show  a  gradual  increase  in  numbers.  One  deplorable  fact 
exists,  and  that  is  the  large  shipment  of  calves  to  market.  An  ambitiou  to  possess 
thorough-bred  cattle  has  seized  some  of  our  best  farmers  in  Kent  County,  aud  im- 
ported cattle  seem  to  have  become  a  uecessity  to  a  large  number.  The  Alderney  and 
Guernsey  breeds  are  favored.  With  the  investment  of  large  sums  of  money  in 
"  l)looded"  cattle  comes  a  greater  amount  of  care  in  their  keeping,  such  as  the  feed- 
ing of  chopped  feed,  meal,  oil  cake,  &k.,  when  but  a  few  years  ago  straw  and  coarse 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        307 

fodder  were  about  the  only  food  given.  Better  care  iu  every  way  is  now  taken  with 
the  animals,  and  they  are  furnished  with  comfortable  sheds  for  inclement  weather. 
Pumps  iu  the  inclosure  with  clean  troughs  and  pure  water  instead  of  that  which  for- 
merly stood  in  the  muddy,  stagnant  water-hole,  and  good  clover  fields  for  pasture  in- 
stead of  the  turned-out  and  exhausted  lands  or  wood-range.  Our  cows  often  go  to 
the  pail  at  eighteen  months  of  age  instead  of  three  years,  as  formerly. 


Alachua. — No  destructive  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  in 
this  county  iu  the  past  year,  though  a  great  many  fowls  has  been  lost  by  cholera. 

Bradford. — Horses  have  been  afflicted  with  staggers,  cattle  with  black-tongue,  hogs 
with  cholera,  sbeep  with  scab,  aud  fowls  with  cholera.  These  are  the  most  fatal  dis- 
eases, and  have  destroyed  horses  to  the  value  of  $15,000;  cattle,  !$2,5G0,  and  hogs  per- 
haps to  the  value  of  $1,000.  The  health  of  farm  animals  and  fowls  has  been  good 
considering  the  care  given  them. 

Brevard  and  Orange. — Horses,  cattle,  ami  hogs  have  been  afflicted  with  the  usual 
diseases  the  past  year.  I  estimate  the  value  of  the  losses  about  as  follows:  Horses, 
$3,000;  cattle,  $5,400 ;    and  hogs,  $300.     Sheep  aud  fowls  have  remained  healthy. 

Clay. — A  great  many  cattle  have  died  of  hollow-horn,  hogs  of  cholera,  aud  fowls  of 
swell-head.  Hogs  to  the  value  of  $20,000  have  been  lost.  Perhaps  the  value  of  fowls 
lost  would  reach  $3,000. 

Columbia.— A  good  many  horses  have  died  of  staggers,  brought  on  no  doubt  by  sum- 
mer pasturing  in  shadeless  ranges.  Cattle  have  been  lost  by  flux,  hogs  from  cholera 
and  thumps,  sheep  from  what  is  known  here  as  rot,  aud  fowls  from  cholera  aud  sore- 
head. I  think  the  value  of  our  losses  have  been  about  as  follows:  Horses,  $2,000  ; 
cattle,  $S40 ;  hogs,  $3,750 ;  and  fowls,  $200. 

Dade. — Neither  farm  animals  nor  fowls  have  been  attacked  by  any  epidemic  or  con- 
tagious disease  during  the  past  year.     We  have  but  little  farm  stock  in  this  county. 

Hernando. — Some  epizootic  diseases  have  prevailed  among  horses  recently  brought 
to  this  county  from  Kentucky  aud  Tennessee.  The  malady  is  the  result  of  a  change 
of  climate. 

Hillshorough. — I  have  not  heard  of  I  he  prevaleuce  of  diseaf-es  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  the  past  year,  except  distemper,  which  afiected  a  drove  of  horses  brought  in 
from  Kentucky.     But  one  animal  died. 

Jackson. — It  is  only  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  and  iu  certain  localities  of  the 
county,  that  farm  animals  suffer  with  disease.  Our  losses  have  been  light  the  past 
year. 

Madison. — The  principal  disease  among  horses  and  mules  are  colic  and  staggers. 
These  diseases  cause  quite  a  heavy  annual  loss.  Hogs  valued  at  $2,500  have  died 
duriug  the  year  of  cholera  and  thumps.  Burned  corn  is  a  preventive  of  cholera,  it 
is  said. 

Marion. — Horses,  cattle,  and  hogs  are  subject  to  such  diseases  as  colic,  blind  stag- 
gers, and  cholera,  the  latter  being  confined  to  hogs.  Cattle  iu  some  localities  are 
troubled  with  a  disease  known  as  salt-lick.  It  is  manifested  by  a  slow  debility,  and 
is  sometimes  accompanied  by  diarrhea.     No  remedy  has  been  found  tor  the  disease. 

Santa.  Rosa. — A  few  horses  died  duriug  the  year  in  this  county.  A  largo  number  of 
cattle  died  in  the  spring  of  1882,  mostly  from  starvation.  Very  few  hogs  have  been 
lost  by  disease  this  year,  but  more  sheep  than  usual  have  died.  C^holera  has  been 
very  destructive  to  fowls. 

Suwannee. — Horses  and  mules  die  of  blind  staggers,  sand,  aud  colic.  No  glanders  or 
farcy,  but  almost  every  horse  that  sickens  of  either  staggers  or  sand  disease  dies.  A 
great  many  cattle  have  been  lost,  aud  a  great  many  hogs  have  died,  I  suppose  of 
cholera.  The  same  can  be  said  of  fowls.  I  estimate  the  value  of  our  losses  as  fol- 
lows: Horses,  $1.5,000;  cattle,  $12,000;  hogs,  $2,300     8hee4>,  $200;  fowls   $600. 


308  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Taylor. — All  I  have  been  able  to  learn  is  that  a  few  horses  have  died  of  blind  stag, 
gers,  and  some  hogs  have  died  of  cholera.  There  is  but  little  farm  stock  in  this 
county. 

GEORGIA. 

Baldwin. — We  have  more  mules  than  horses  in  this  county.  The  only  deaths  among 
either  class  have  been  caused  by  colic.  No  epidemic  has  occurred.  There  have  been 
but  very  few  cases  of  cholera  among  hogs.  No  disease  among  cattle  to  cause  serious 
loss  ;  a  few  deaths  here  and  there. 

Brools. — Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  have  been  generally  healthy.  For  the  past  eight 
or  ten  years  our  hogs  and  chickens  have  died  at  a  rapid  rate  from  cholera. 

BHrJcf. — Only  one  epidemic  of  glanders  among  horses  has  been  reported  during  the 
past  eighteen  mouths.  The  disease  was  brought  from  20  miles  west  of  here,  and  was 
contiued  to  one  public  stable.  Cattle  and  sheep  have  been  healthy.  About  one-half 
of  the  hogs  and  two-thirds  of  all  the  fowls  in  the  county  have  been  lost  during  the 
year  by  the  cholera. 

Camden. — Neither  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  nor  hogs  have  been  aflected  by  contagious 
diseases  the  past  year.     Cholera  has  destroyed  a  great  many  fowls. 

Camphell. — No  destructive  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  our  domestic  animals  or 
fowls  during  the  current  year. 

Carroll. — I  am  unable  to  hear  of  the  prevalence  of  any  epidemic  disease  among  farm 
animals  in  this  county  the  past  year.  Cholera  has  prevailed  among  fowls,  but  to  no 
great  extent. 

Catoosa. — Hog  cholera  has  been  simply  awful  in  this  county  this  ypar.  No  remedy 
was  efficient,  bui  preventive  measures  were  somewhat  serviceable.  Our  hogs  have 
been  singularly  exempt  from  disease  heretofore,  but  we  have  been  scourged  at  last. 

Charlton. — A  few  horses  have  been  lost  the  past  year  by  the  usual  diseases.  The 
greatest  and  only  loss  from  contagious  or  epidemic  diseases  has  been  among  hogs, 
caused  by  the  disease  known  as  cholera. 

Chalham. — No  disease  of  an  epidemic  character  has  existed  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  during  the  year  just  closing. 

Chattooga. — Horses  and  cattle  have  been  unusually  healthy  the  past  year.  A  few 
hogs  have  died  from  what  was  thought  to  be  a  mild  type  of  cholera,  but  the  disease 
was  not  marked  with  its  usual  malignancy  and  fatality. 

Cobb. — The  total  loss  of  farm  animals  and  fowls  from  disease  in  this  countj' the  past 
year  will  aggregate  about  $5,000.  There  has  been  no  extensive  outbreak  of  disease 
except  among  hogs  and  fowls,  and  among  these  the  destruction  has  not  been  so  great 
as  in  many  former  years. 

Coffee. — A  few  horses  have  died  the  past  season  of  staggers.  Cattle  have  been  healthy, 
though  some  have  died  from  poverty  and  neglect.  Hogs  have  been  afflicted  with 
cholera,  but  the  losses  have  not  been  heavy. 

Colquitt. — There  have  been  no  losses  among  farm  animals  this  year  except  from 
common  casualties,  old  age,  &c. 

Dade. — I  think  $1,000  will  cover  all  the  losses  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  the 
I»ast  year  from  the  various  diseases  to  which  they  are  subject. 

Daivson. — There  have  been  a  less  number  of  deaths  among  horses  and  mules  the  past 
year  than  usual.  The  same  cau  be  said  of  cattle.  Hog  cholera  has  been  very  fatal 
in  some  portions  of  the  county,  but  the  disease  has  not  prevailed  generally.  But 
little  attention  is  jiaid  to  the  raising  of  sheep. 

Dooly. — Not  a  case  of  contagious  disease  has  occurred  among  farm  animals  in  this 
county  the  past  year  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn.  Sheep  have  suffered  to  some  extent 
from  dogs. 

Early. — I  estimate  the  value  of  the  losses  among  the  principal  classes  of  farm  ani- 
mals as  follows  for  the  current  year  :  Horses,  $2,500 ;  cattle,  $500 ;  hogs,  $1,000. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        309 

Effingham. — With  the  exception  of  hogs  and  fowls,  all  kinds  of  farm  animals  in  this 
county  are  in  a  healthy  condition. 

Emanuel. — The  only  epidemic  we  have  had  to  contend  wnth  for  some  years  past  is 
cholera  among  hogs.  These  animals  are  more  or  less  affected  with  this  or  some 
other  disease  every  year.  A  few^  horses  have  died  of  staggers,  and  a  good  many  for 
lack  of  proper  care  and  attention.  They  are  kept  on  the  range  through  the  winter, 
and  often  die  from  hunger  and  exposure.  I  estimate  the  value  of  horses  lost  at  $7,500; 
hogs.  $2,.500  ;  sheep,  $3,.500. 

Fannin. — With  the  exception  of  a  few  cattle  that  have  died  '>f  milk-sickness,  farm 
animals  in  this  county  have  enjoyed  exceptionally  good  health  the  past  year. 

Franklin. — There  have  been  no  contagions  diseases  prevalent  among  farm  animals 
since  l!S72.  During  that  year  about  oO  per  cent,  of  all  the  hogs  in  the  county  died  of 
cholera.     A  few  horses  have  died  the  present  year  from  neglect  and  bad  treatment. 

Fulton. — There  are  but  a  limited  number  of  farm  animals  raised  in  this  county  for 
market,  and  I  have  but  few  losses  to  record.  Our  hogs  were  formerly  afiected  with 
cholera,  but  since  the  adoption  of  the  stock  law  we  have  had  no  trouble  from  it. 

Gilmtr. — I  estimate  the  value  of  farm  animals  and  fowls  lost  in  the  county  the  past 
year  as  follows:  Horses,  $4, 000  ;  cattle,  $1,000  ;  hogs,  $1,000;  sheep,  $225  ;  fowls,  $120. 

Gordon. — This  has  been  an  exceptionally  healthy  year  for  farm  stock.  A  few^  cat- 
tle have  died  of  "  murrain,"  or  Texas  fever,  but  so  very  few  that  they  are  not  worth 
recording.  A  good  many  fowls  have  died  from  so-called  cholera,  but  ii  is  impossible 
to  give  anything  like  a  correct  estimate  of  the  number  lost. 

Greene. — I  have  no  heavy  losses  to  record  as  occurring  among  any  class  of  farm  ani- 
mals in  this  county.  The  year  has  been  an  average  one  as  regards  the  health  of  farm 
stock. 

Hahersham. — No  special  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  our  stock  the  past 
season.  The  number  of  each  class  of  animals  has  gradually  increased.  We  have 
more  hogs  in  the  county  than  at  any  jirevious  time  during  the  past  five  years. 

Haralson. — I  think  about  10  percent,  of  the  sheep  of  this  county  die  annually  of  the 
disease  known  as  rot.     About  the  same  proportion  of  fowls  die  of  so-called  cholera. 

flar;is.— This  has  been  a  remarkably  healthy  year  for  all  kinds  of  stock.  Our  peo- 
ple are  giving  much  more  attention  than  formerly  to  the  care  of  stock,  and  I  think 
the  business  will  ultimately  prove  profitable.  We  have  a  climate  capable  of  a  variety 
of  productions— corn,  cotton,  wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  potatoes,  vegetables,  and  all 
kinds  of  stock. 

Hancocl: — No  diseases  have  prevailed  among  farm  animals  as  epidemics;  only  spo- 
radic cases  now  and  then,  confined  to  limited  localities.  Grubs  have  proved  fatal  to 
sheep,  and  cholera  and  "  sorehead"  to  fowls. 

Jaclson. —Kovses  and  cattle  have  not  been  seriously  affected  with  disease  during 
the  year.  Hogs  and  sheep  have  suffered  to  a  considerable  extent  with  contagions 
diseases.     Thousands  of  fowls  die  annually  of  disease. 

Jasper. — I  know  of  no  disease  existing  among  either  horses  or  cattle.  Occasionally 
a  horse  dies  of  colic  and  a  cow  from  neglect.  Cholera  has  prevailed  to  some  extent 
among  hogs.  It  is  said  it  may  be  avoided  by  letting  them  have  free  access  to  salt 
and  wood  ashes. 

J^o7i7/so)(.— The  only  farm  animals  attected  by  disease  here  are  hogs.  The  cholera 
never  dies  out  among  these  animals.  Hogs  are  dying  now  in  almost  every  section  of 
the  county.     Our  losses  up  to  this  time  will  reach  from  $r),0()0  to  $10,000. 

L« HI ^-ui.— Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  are  healthy.  Hog  ciiolera  is  not  so  prevalent  as 
usual.     One-fifth  of  all  the  hogs  in  the  county  died  of  this  disease  in  1«82. 

McDuffie.— With,  the  exception  of  an  occasional  case  of  colic,  we  rarely  have  any 
disease  among  our  horses.  Cattle  are  seldom  afiected.  Hogs  die  of  cholera  more  or 
less  every  year.  Increased  interest  is  being  paitl  to  stock,  and  the  amount  now  raised 
is  double  that  of  a  few  years  ago. 

Morgan. — Nearly  all  labor  is  performed  hy  mules,  which,  I  suppose,  o)it number  the 


310         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

horses  four  to  one.  No  special  disease  prevails  araoug  them.  We  frequently  lose 
many  hogs  by  cholera,  but  the  disease  seems  not  to  have  visited  the  county  during 
the  past  two  years.  Sheep  are  healthy.  Fowls  in  some  localities  have  suffered  from 
roupe  and  cholera. 

Muscogee. — This  is  not  a  stock-raising  county,  and  I  have  no  report  to  make  relative 
to  disea.ses. 

Oconee. — Cattle  are  freciuently  attacked  with  bloody  murrain  and  sheej)  with  foot- 
rot.     Hogs  and  fowls  suffer  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  every  year  with  cholera. 

Pickens. — The  greatest  losses  among  cattle  in  this  county  are  caused  by  murrain  and 
distemper.  Cholera  and  quinsy  prevail  among  hogs,  and  cholera  among  chickens. 
I  estimate  the  value  of  our  losses  in  fowls  alone  at  |100,000. 

Qnifman. — No  contagious  diseases  are  prevalent  among  either  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep. 
Recently  the  hogs  in  many  localities  have  been  attacked  with  cholera,  which  seems 
te  be  unusually  fatal.  The  chickens  are  being  decimated  in  entire  neighborhoods  by 
the  same  disease. 

liockdah. — Horses,  mules,  and  cattle  have  been  affected  with  no  unusual  diseases 
the  past  year.  Hogs  and  fowls,  however,  annually  die  in  great  numbers  of  the  dis- 
ease known  as  cholera.  Our  stock  has  wonderfully  improved  under  the  no-fence  law> 
which  has  been  in  operation  in  the  county  two  years. 

Talbol. — Domestic  animals  of  all  classes  have  been  unusually  exempt  from  disease 
the  current  year.  Some  cholera  has  prevailed  among  chickens,  which  is  generally 
checked  by  putting  them  up,  a  few  together,  and  destroying  the  dead.  Much  atten- 
tion is  being  paid  to  improvement  in  the  breeds  of  cattle.     We  have  the  Jersey  fever. 

'Terrell. — Horses  are  generally  lost  by  poverty,  or  some  disease  induced  by  ill-treat- 
ment. But  little  small  grain  is  raised,  and  the  auimals  are  fed  on  chaff,  weevil-eaten 
corn,  and  poor  fodder,  which  the  horses  cannot  assimilate.  The  most  of  the  work  is 
performed  by  mules,  aud  of  course  the  losses  are  greater  among  thisjclass.  Perhaps 
the  value  of  these  losses  will  reach  $2,500  annually.  No  contagious  diseases  among 
cattle.  What  we  term  cholera  causes*  heavy  losses  in  poultry.  About  once  in  five 
years  it  almost  annihilates  the  chickens. 

Thomas. — Black-tongue  or  murrain  occasionally  carries  off'  a  few  head  of  cattle. 
Blind  staggers  is  about  the  only  destructive  disease  to  horses  and  mules.  Cholera 
and  sorehead  are  the  diseases  which  afflict  fowls. 

Troup. — No  disease  has  pi'evailed  among  our  stock  during  the  past  year — at  least 
the  losses  have  been  so  light  as  not  to  be  worthy  of  record. 

Union. — Distemper  is  the  only  disease  existing  among  horses,  but  I  have  heard  of 
no  deaths  resulting.  Milk-sick  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  cattle.  This  is 
caused  by  a  mineral  poison,  and  is  confined  to  particular  localities. 

Washington. — Not  much  disease  among  domestic  animals  in  this  county.  Have  no 
means  of  securing  correct  data. 

TVebster. — An  epidemic  prevailed  among  cattle  in  the  northern  portion  of  this  county 
in  March  last.  It  proved  fatal  in  almost  every  case.  The  disease  was  not  identified. 
There  was  inflammation  of  the  intestines,  black,  watery  discharges,  loss  of  appetite? 
and  death  within  a  few  days. 

White. — The  only  contagious  disease  that  has  prevailed  among  our  farm  stock  is 
hog  cholera.  I  suppose  hogs  to  the  value  of  $2,000  or  |;3,(»00  have  been  lost  by  this 
disease. 

Wilkes. — Horses  and  uuilessufter  more  from  short  rations  than  anything  else.  Hogs 
are  healthy,  and  on  the  increase.     Sheep  sutter  only  from  dogs. 

Worth. — Staggers  is  about  the  only  disease  affecting  horses.  Those  attacked  scarcely 
ever  recover.  The  cattle  are  of  the  scrub  kind.  They  are  generally  brought  from 
Texas  to  graze  on  our  mesquit  grass.  A  great  many  of  them  die  from  exposure  iu 
severe  weather.  We  have  had  no  rain  since  June.  The  grass  is  dead,  and  the  cattle 
look  very  weak.  No  disease  among  hogs.  The  breed  is  the  bottle-nose,  piney  woods, 
rooter  or  razor  back. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        311 


Adams. — "With  the  exceptiou  of  a  few  eases  of  pink-eye  iu  horses,  no  disease  of  a  se- 
rious character  has  prevailed  among  au^'  cLass  of  domestic  animals  iu  this  county  the 
past  year. 

Boone. — During  tlie  past  year  all  kinds  of  farm  animals  have  remained  very  healthy. 
The  only  disease  worthy  of  note  is  chlckeu  cholera.  This  has  been  very  fatal  iu  many 
cases.     No  remedy  is  known. 

Carroll. — The  largest  stock-shipper  iu  the  county  informs  me  that  he  has  never 
known  a  time  wheu  all  kinds  of  farm  animals  were  sk  free  from  disease  as  at  present. 
I  give  the  losses  for  the  year  as  follows :  Horses,  §12,847;  cattle,  $11,131 ;  liogs,  .$4,463  ; 
sheep,  $604. 

Christian. — About  5  per  ceut.  of  the  horses  and  cattle  of  this  county  are  auuually 
lost  by  sickness,  accidents,  &c.  Twenty-five  per  ceut.  of  the  hogs  and  25  per  cent,  of 
the  fowls  of  the  county  generally  die  of  some  disease  incident  to  them. 

C7arA;.— 'The  assessor's  returns  for  this  county  give  the  value  of  the  losses  of  farm 
animals  for  the  past  year  as  follows:  Horses,  $ir),718;  cattle,  $4,291;  hogs,  $5,205; 
sheep,  $1,372. 

Clinton. — The  following  is  tlie  most  nccurate  estimate  I  can  give  of  the  value  of  the 
losses  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  past  year,  viz  :  Horses,  $15,669; 
cattle,  $4,969;  hogs,  $7,098;  sheep,  $1,392 ;  fowls,  $384. 

Crawford. — Many  hogs  have  died  of  so-called  cholera.  Losses  of  all  classes  of  do- 
mestic animals  for  the  year:  Horses,  $1,325;  cattle,  $5,000;  hogs,  $18,900;  sheep, 
$3,600. 

Cumberland. — Farm  auiuuils  have  beeu  iu  better  health  the  past  year  than  usual. 
I  think  the  following  estimate  will  cover  the  value  of  losses  among  all  classes  as  well 
as  fowls :  Horses,  $8,000 ;  cattle,  $450  ;  hogs,  $5,000 ;  sheep,  $2,000  ;  fowls,  $400.  There 
has  beeu  some  distemper  among  horses. 

De  Ealb. — Farm  animals  havti  enjoyed  remarkably  good  health  this  year.  I  think  the 
aggregate  value  of  the  losses  will  not  exceed  $4,000. 

Edgar. — Colic,  bots,  distemper,  &c.,  occasionally  cause  the  death  of  a  horse.  There 
is  no  general  disease  among  cattle  and  but  little  among  hogs.  The  following  is  an 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  losses  among  the  various  classes  :  Horses,  $12,000  ;  cattle, 
$5,000;  hogs,  $3,000;  sheep,  $300;  fowls,  $1,000. 

Edwards. — Hogs  to  the  value  of  $8,000  or  $9,000  have  beeu  lost  the  past  year  by 
farmers  of  this  county.  A  few  horses  and  cattle  have  also  died  of  diseases  incident  to 
them. 

Franklin. — Aside  from  the  ravages  caused  by  hog  cholera,  I  have  no  losses  to  record 
among  other  farm  animals.  The  value  of  the  losses  caused  by  the  above  disease  will 
reach  $3,000. 

Fulton. — Hog  cholera  prevails  iu  the  county,  and  mauy  cases  have  terminated  fatally. 
No  other  class  of  animals  seems  to  be  seriously  atiected. 

Gallatin. — Perhaps  100  head  of  horses  have  died  in  this  county  of  fistula.  Cattle 
have  beeu  extremely  healthy.  Murrain  and  mad-itch  have  probablj^  caused  the 
death  of  50  head.  Some  cholera  has  prevailed  among  hogs,  from  which  about  700  head 
have  died. 

Grundy. — All  classes  of  farm  animals  and  poultry  have  been  exceedingly  healthy 
the  past  year.  The  losses  by  infectious  and  contagious  diseases  will  not  exceed  one 
per  cent,  iu  either  class. 

Henri). — Some  horses  and  cattle  have  been  lost  by  accident  and  disease.  Hogs  are 
healthier  tluiu  last  year,  though  the  value  of  our  losses  for  the  current  year  will  reach 
$15,000.     Cholera  has  swept  off  fowls  to  the  value  of  $1,500. 

Jefferson. — The  only  loss  of  consei(uence  among  our  farm  stock  has  occurred  among 
hogs.     I  suppose  $4,000  or  $5,000  will  cover  tlie  loss  of  these  animals. 

Jersey. — The  assessors  for  this  county  make  the  foli»)wiug  returns  of  the  value  of 


-312  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

I 
i'arin  animals  lost  iu  1833:  Horses,  $10,275;  cattle,  $16,705;  hogs,  $5,000;  sheep 
^1,148. 

Johnson. — Some  cattle  brought  into  this  county  from  the  south  were  affected  with 
disease  and  a  few  of  thein  died.     No  losses  worthy  of  mention  among  other  animals. 

Jo  Daviess. — The  value  of  the  losses  of  farm  animals  in  the  county  for  the  year  1883, 
■with  slight  modifications  is  given  by  the  assessors  as  follows :  Horses,  $21,990  ;  cattle, 
$16,705;  hogs,  $42,75)9  ;  sheep,  $1,114. 

Kankakee. — But  little  disease  of  any  kiud  seems  to  have  prevailed  among  any  class 
of  our  farm  animals  the  j»ast  year.  From  the  best  information  I  can  get  I  am  led  to 
believe  that  tlie  losses  among  all  classes  will  not  exceed  $1,200  in  value. 

Kendall. — Hogs  to  the  value  of  $15,540  have  been  lost  by  disease  in  this  county  (lur- 
ing the  past  yeai".  A  few  Hocks  of  sheep  have  beeu  afflicted,  but  the  losses  have  been 
light. 

La  Salle.— A  tew  horses  died  iu  this  county  last  spring  of  hysteria'.  During  the 
summer  a  disease  attacked  the  cows  near  Meudota.  It  was  very  fatal,  and  killed  the 
animals  iu  a  few  hours.  A  good  many  hogs  died  in  the  course  of  the  farrowing  sea- 
son.    I  hear  of  but  one  flock  of  sheep  afi'ected  with  scab. 

Lawrence. — Horses  and  cattle  are  healthy.  Hogs  have  suftered  with  cholera  as 
usual.  A  great  mauy  sheep  have  died  of  a  disease  of  the  bowels.  Large  numbers  of 
fowls  have  beeu  destroyed  by  cholera. 

Lee. — As  a  general  thing  farm  animals  have  been  quite  healthy  the  past  year.  A 
few  hogs  have  been  lost  from  various  causes:  but  the  value  of  the  losses  will  not  ex- 
ceed $1,600  or  $1,800.  Some  foot-rot  prevails  among  sheep,  but  the  disease  is  not 
destructive. 

Mason. — Some  pink-eye  has  prevailed  among  horses,  and  a  mild  type  of  cholera 
among  hogs,  but  the  losses  have  been  very  light.  Other  classes  of  stock  have  re- 
mained healthy. 

Morgan. — No  new  disease  has  prevailed  among  auy  class  of  farm  animals  the  past 
year.  Cholera  among  hogs  and  fowls  is  about  the  only  disease  that  has  caused  losses 
worthy  of  mention. 

McHennj. — The  following  are  the  number  and  value  of  farm  animals  lost  in  this 
county  the  past  year,  as  shown  by  the  returns  of  the  assessors  :  Horses,  $15,702;  cat- 
tle, $12,879 ;  hogs,  $5,230.64 ;  sheep,  $2,269  ;  and  fowls,  $900.  The  heaviest  losses 
among  all  kinds  of  stock  occurred  during  the  months  of  March  and  April.  No  conta- 
gious diseases  seem  to  be  prevailing  at  this  time. 

Ogle. — While  no  epidemic  seems  to  have  prevailed  during  the  year  among  our  farm 
animals,  the  losses  have  beeu  quite  heavy.  The  value  of  the  losses  is  given  as  fol- 
lows :  Horses,  $16,000 ;  cattle,  $19,800 ;  hogs,  $3,900  ;  sheep,  $432. 

Peoria. — The  losses  among  domestic  animals  iu  this  county  were  quite  heavy  during 
the  year.  They  are  given  as  follows:  Horses,  $29,186  ;  cattle,  $10,014  ;  hogs,  $20,580 ; 
sheep,  $2,330.     Of  the  hogs  lost  2,895  died  of  cholera  and  1,203  of  other  diseases. 

Perry.  —Perhaps  $8,000  or  $10,000  will  cover  the  value  of  the  losses  of  farm  stock  in 
this  county  during  the  year  from  all  causes. 

Pulaski. — After  the  high  waters  of  last  spring  subsided  a  disease  appeared  among 
hogs  which  seemed  to  have  its  origin  and  to  more  seriously  affect  those  that  had  been 
kept  in  crowded  pens  and  ill  provided  places  during  the  continuance  of  the  flood,  and 
were  returned  to  the  ground  before  it  had  sufliciently  dried.  In  some  instances  those 
that  recovered  changed  their  color  from  black  to  gray. 

utnam. — During  the  year  w^e  lost  91  head  of  horses,  106  head  of  cattle,  596  hogs, 
and  79  sheep,  valued  as  follows:  Horses,  $9,359;  cattle,  $2,931;  hogs,. $3,576;  sheop» 
$400. 

Po2)e. — All  classes  of  farm  stock  seem  to  be  healthy — no  disease  of  oonse<[uence  the 
past  year.  In  1882  663  hogs  died  of  cholera  in  this  county,  and  893  sheep  were  de- 
stroyed by  dogs. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        313 

Eock  Island. — Quite  a  large  number  of  bogs  have  been  lost  by  the  usual  diseases  the 
past  year.     The  losses  among  other  classes  of  animals  are  hardly  worth  recording. 

Saline. — The  loss  of  domestic  animals  by  disease  has  not  been  very  great  in  this 
county  the  past  year.  I  give  the  value  of  the  losses  among  the  various  classes,  as 
follows  :  Horses,  $1,095  ;  cattle,  |693 ;  hogs,  $2,407.50 ;  sheep,  $480.     Fowls  are  healthy. 

/S'(7(Hi//ej-.— Seven  horses  affected  with  glanders  have  been  condemned  and  destroyed 
by  order  of  the  State  veterinarian,  and  five  6thers  are  supposed  to  have  the  disease. 
These  will  be  finally  examined  by  the  veterinarian  on  his  return  to  the  county.  Other 
classes  of  farm  animals  are  healthy. 

Shelby. — Farm  animals  in  this  county  have  been  unusually  healthy  the  past  year. 
No  epidemic  of  any  kind  has  prevailed.  The  value  of  the  hogs  lost  is  estimated  at 
but  §2,054. 

Slark. — Only  the  ordinary  diseases  have  prevailed  among  our  horses  and  cattle  the 
past  year.  Sheep  have  also  been  healthy,  and  hog  cholera  has  been  less  destructive 
than  for  many  years  past. 

Stephenson. — Notwithstanding  there  has  been  no  special  epidemic  among  horses,  I 
estimate  the  value  of  those  lost  in  the  county  the  past  year  by  ordinary  maladies  at 
$35,000.  The  value  of  the  other  classes  of  animals  that  have  died  of  disease  or  by  ac- 
cident I  give  as  follows:  Cattle,  $3,600;  hogs,  $1,.500;  sheen,  $1,000. 

Saint  Clair. — But  few  farm  animals  are  kept  in  this  county,  and  what  we  have  are 
kept  in  the  best  possible  condition,  hence  they  are  scarcely  ever  visited  by  epidemics. 

Tazeivell. — No  severe  e[)idemic  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  in 
this  county  the  past  year.  Even  swine  plague  has  prevailed  to  a  less  extent  than 
formerly. 

Vermillion. — The  health  of  all  classes  of  domestic  animals  has  been  unusually  good 
the  past  year.  AVhat  losses  have  occurred  have  been  small  and  were  the  result  of 
natural  causes.  A  few  hogs  died  iu  one  township  of  the  cholera  ;  the  loss  was  insig- 
nificant. 

Wayne. — Farm  animals  valued  as  follows  have  been  lost  by  the  farmers  of  this 
county  the  past  year,  viz:  Horses,  $1,800;  cattle,  $975;  hogs,  $1,680;  sheep,  $280 
and  fowls,  $2,2.50. 

JValash. — Pink-eye  prevailed  among  horses  not  long  since  in  one  locality  in  our 
county,  but  I  heard  of  but  one  death  from  the  disease.  Cattle  and  sheep  have  been 
healthy.     A  few  hogs  were  reported  as  having  died  late  in  the  fall. 

ll'arren. — One  hundred  and  twelve  horses  are  reported  as  having  died  in  this  county 
the  past  year.  They  were  valued  at  $6,720.  One  hundred  cattle,  valued  at  $20  per 
head,  were  also  lost. 

Will. — The  value  of  the  losses  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  current 
year  are  given  as  follows:  Horses,  $1,360 ;  cattle,  $8,000;  hogs,  $2,400;  sheep,  $312.50. 

Hilliamson. — Cars  that  had  been  used  for  transporting  cattle  to  Saint  Louis  were 
brought  to  this  county  to  be  loaded  with  coal.  The  manure  was  thrown  out  along- 
side the  railroad  track,  and  all  the  cows  that  visited  the  locality  were  infected  with 
Texas  fever  and  died. 

Winnebago. — The  county  assessors  return  the  following  as  the  value  of  losses  among 
farm  stock  for  the  year:  Horses,  $11,512:  cattle,  $8,196;  hogs.  $9,112;  sheep,  $720; 
and  fowls,  $1,858. 


Adams. — No  disease  has  prevailed  during  the  year  among  either  horses  or  cattle  in 
this  county,  but  some  hogs  liav«  died  of  cholera.  This  disease  has  been  neither  so 
widespread  nor  destructive  as  iu  1882. 

Benton. — Some  few  cattle  died  during  the  year  with  pink-eye.  We  can't  depend  on 
the  health  of  our  hogs  from  one  week  to  another.  They  are  now  suffering  with  the 
old-fashioned  cholera.  Sheep  have  died  of  foot-rot  and  scab,  and  a  great  many  fowls 
have  been  lost  by  cholera. 


314         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF   DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Clinton. — The  value  of  the  losses  among  domestic  animals  in  this  county  for  the 
year,  from  the  various  causes  and  diseases  incident  to  them,  is  about  as  follows :  Horses, 
$12,650;  cattle,  $10,000;  hogs,  $6,000;  sheep,  |1,000;  and  fowls,  $450. 

Crawford. — Farm  animals  in  this  county  have  remained  in  good  health  during  the 
year.     No  epidemic  of  any  kind  has  prevailed  among  them. 

Decatur. — The  loss  of  animals  in  this  county  has  been  very  heavy,  though  no  gen- 
eral epidemic  is  reported  as  having  prevailed  among  any  particular  class.  Fowl 
cholera  has  been  particularly  destructive,  so  much  so  as  to  discourage  poultry  raisers. 
The  value  of  the  losses  for  the  various  classes  are  estimated  as  follows  :  Horses, 
$17,570;  cattle,  $4,200;  hogs,  $16,107;  sheep,  $2,208;  mules,  $2,400;  and  fowls,  $2,500. 

Dubois. — Hogs  are  the  only  domestic  animals  that  seem  to  have  been  seriously  af- 
fected by  disease  during  the  past  year.  The  value  of  those  that  have  died  amount 
to  $9,462.     Chicken  cholera  has  carried  otf  fowls  valued  at  $2,8.56. 

Fayette. — No  disease  of  a  destructive  character  has  prevailed  during  the  year  among 
either  horses,  cattle  or  sheeii.  Hogs  valued  at  from  $6,000  to  $7,000  have  died  of  the 
usual  diseases. 

Franklin. — I  know  of  no  particular  disease  to  which  horses  have  been  subject. 
About  75  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  lost  during  the  year  died  of  swine  plague,  and  about 
40  per  cent,  of  the  losses  among  sheep  were  caused  by  dogs.  About  20  per  cent,  of 
our  fowls  have  died  of  cholera.  The  total  value  of  the  losses  among  hogs  aggregates 
$20,056.  The  results  of  the  experiments  made  by  the  Department  through  its  agen- 
cies in  the  treatment  of  swine  plague  have  been  thoroughly  tested  here  during  the 
past  year,  and  no  advantage  seemed  gained  either  in  cure  or  prevention.  Hog  cholera, 
when  malignant,  yields  to  no  known  remedies  with  us.  It  is  wholly  unmanageable 
and  fatal. 

Fulton. — The  county  assessors  give  the  following  as  the  value  of  the  losses  among 
farm  auimals  in  this  county  for  the  past  year:  Horses,  $12,400;  cattle,  $4,400  ;  hogs, 
$7,500 ;  sheep,  $600. 

Gibson. — The  records  in  the  county  auditor's  office  give  the  following  losses  of  farm 
animals  for  the  year:  Horses,  $17, «00 ;  mules,  $6,975 ;  cattle,  $6,540;  hogs,  $33,710  ; 
sheep,  $752. 

Harrison. — No  destructive  epidemic  of  any  kind  has  visited  the  domestic  animals  of 
this  locality  during  the  year.  I  have  no  means  of  securing  the  statistics  of  losses  of 
those  that  have  died. 

Hamilion. — A  great  many  cows  have  died  of  milk  fever.  The  disease  is  very  fatal, 
and  about  all  die  that  are  attacked.  Quite  a  number  of  hogs  have  died  in  the  county 
ot  late.  If  one  of  these  animals  die  the  disease  is  always  called  cholera.  I  estimate 
the  value  of  those  lost,  whether  by  cholera  or  some  other  disease,  at  $12,800.  Cholera 
and  gapes  frequentlj'  x^rove  very  destructive  to  fowls. 

Hancock. — No  disease  of  consequence  has  prevailed  among  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep 
the  past  year.  With  a  few  exceptions  hogs  have  been  healthy,  and  the  aggregate 
loss  will  not  much  exceed  $8,000.  Whenever  any  disease  prevails  among  this  class  of 
animals  ir  is  called  cholera.  A  disease  also  called  cholera  and  roupe  have  prevailed 
to  some  extent  among  chickens. 

Hendricks. — Losses  of  animals  in  this  county  for  the  year  1883  are  given  as  follows: 
Horses,  $8,750;  cattle,  $4,820;  hogs,  $12,565;  shee]),  $2,290. 

Henrij. — It  is  difficult  to  answer  the  desired  questions.  In  some  localities  there 
have  been  heavy  losses  from  hog  cholera,  but  as  to  the  value  of  the  losses  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  know.  Two  men  near  here  have  lost  about  $1,000  worth  each  and  others 
quite  largely.    No  disease  has  occurred  among  horses  or  cattle. 

Hoivard. — No  epidemic  disease  prevailed  among  horses  during  the  years  1882-'83. 
Anthrax  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  cattle,  destroying  animals  valued  at  up- 
wards of  $5,000.  I  estimate  our  losses  by  so-called  hog  cholera  at  $30,000.  This  dis- 
ease prevails  among  liogs  throughout  the  year. 

Jay. — Occasionally  pink-eye  appears  among  our  horses   and  distemper  rages  to 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES' OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        315 

some  extent,  but  the  losses  are  generally  light.  Our  county  has  again  been  visited  by 
hog  cholera  in  its  worst  form.  Some  farmers  have  lost  nearly  all  their  animals. 
Nothing  seems  to  have  any  effect  on  the  disease  when  it  gets  a  fair  hold;  the  animals 
die  anyhow.  Chickens  also  die  in  large  numbers  of  cholera.  Sheep  are  fearfully 
slaughtered  by  dogs. 

Jennings. — The  only  disease  worth  mentioning  among  farm  animals  is  hog  cholera. 
This  disease,  however,  is  not  so  widespread  and  destructive  as  in  some  former  years. 
Last  year  I  lost  70  head  myself  by  the  disease. 

Johnson. — The  records  in  the  auditor's  office  give  the  following  as  the  value  of  farm 
animals  lost  during  the  year,  viz:  Horses,  $1,25U;  cattle,  .$300;  hogs,  .$5,000;  sheeii, 
$1,:^00  ;  and  fowls,  .$2.50. 

Knox. — The  most  careful  estimates  give  the  value  of  farm  animals  lost  in  this 
county  during  the  year  as  follows:  Horses,  $1,000;  cattle,  $5,000;  hogs,  $25,000; 
sheep,  $1,262. 

Lagrange. — No  special  disease  has  prevailed  among  our  horses  or  cattle.  Cholera 
had  destroyed  hogs  perhaps  to  the  value  of  .$5,000.  The  actual  loss  by  death  and 
hindrance  in  reproduction  is  no  doubt  greater  than  this;  in  all  probability  it  would 
reach  $10,000.  As  a  preventive  of  this  terrible  disease  carbolic  acid  and  turpentine 
in  swill  or  feed  has  been  found  the  most  efficacious. 

Madison. — Cholera  has  prevailed  among  hogs  in  some  portions  of  this  county,  and 
has  destroyed  animals  during  the  year  worth  in  the  neighborhood  of  $10,000.  Other 
classes  of  animals  have  been  measurably  healthy. 

Marshall. — The  following  figures  represent  the  losses  of  farm  stock  in  this  county 
for  the  past  year :  Horses,  $7,000  ;  cattle,  $3,200;  hogs,  $3,200;  shee^.,  $350;  and  fowls, 
.$2,777..50. 

Miami. — No  epidemic  disease  has  visited  either  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  The  num- 
ber of  sheep  killed  by  dogs  was  390,  valued  at  $1,462.  The  value  of  hogs  lost  by  the 
diseases  incident  to  them  was  $31,400. 

Morgan. — None  other  than  ordinary  diseases  have  affected  our  stock  during  the  past 
year.  There  has  been  a  slight  sprinkling  of  cholera  among  both  hogs  and  fowls,  but 
it  is  hard  to  determine  the  actual  loss  as  regards  either  numbers  or  values.  Perhaps 
one-third  of  the  chickens  hatched  have  died  of  the  disease. 

Monroe. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  horses.  A  few  animals  have 
died  of  pink-eye  and  distemper,  and  others  of  old  age,  colic,  bots,  bad  treatment,  &c. 
No  disease  among  cattle  or  sheep,  except  foot-rot  among  the  latter,  caused  by  keeping 
too  many  animals  together.  In  some  neighborhoods  the  hogs  have  suffered  from 
swiue-plague. 

Parke. — Hogs  have  died  with  the  usual  diseases  the  past  year.  The  number  that 
died  is  given  at  4,285,  valued  at  upwards  of  $20,000.  The  loss  among  sheep  has  also 
been  quite  heavy. 

Ripley. — The  following  figures  represent  pretty  accurately  the  value  of  domestic 
animals  lost  in  this  county  the  past  year:  Horses,  $11,075;  cattle,  .$3,104  ;  hogs, $4,165; 
sheep,  $1,550. 

Scoit. — Perhaps  $5,500  would  cover  the  value  of  the  losses  of  hogs  during  the  past 
year.  Chicken  cholera  has  been  very  destructive.  Quite  a  number  of  fowls  have 
also  died  of  fatty  degeneration  of  the  heart.  The  heart  seemed  to  be  transformed  into 
a  lump  of  fat.     This  ruptures,  and  the  fowl  <lies  almost  instantly. 

Shelby. — The  mortality  among  domestic  animals  in  this  county  has  been  (juire  heavy 
the  past  year.  Cholera  among  hogs  and  fowls  has  proved  more  destructive  than  any 
other  discas(;. 

iSpcncer. — Some  young  horses  have  died  of  distemper.  A  great  many  hogs  have  died 
of  cholera.  About  all  that  are  attacked  by  this  disease  die.  Cholera  and  gapes  have 
destroyed  a.  good  many  fowls. 

Switzerland.— Siixtj-ii\ii.  horses  died  in  this  ccuinty  during  the  year.  Of  these  about 
5  per  cent,  died  of  pink-eye.     Mr.  Perry  Colton  lost  17  head  of  cattle  by  an  unknown 


316  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

disease.  Fiequeut  deaths  have  occurred  among  hogs  from  cholera  and  among  sheep 
from  rot. 

Tippecanoe. — With  the  exception  of  cholera  among  hogs  our  farm  animals  have  been 
very  healthy  the  past  year.     No  disease  of  any  kind  is  prevailing  at  present. 

Vnion. — About  1,'200  head  of  hogs  have  died  iu  this  county  during  the  year,  valued 
at  i^/jf^OO.     Diseases  have  also  been  very  destructive  to  fowls. 

Vigo.—lso  epidemic  has  prevailed  among  farm  stock  in  this  county  the  past  year. 
The  following  values  of  the  losses  are  the  result  of  deaths  from  ordinary  diseases  and 
accidents,  viz  :  Horses,  $1(3,350;  cattle,  |i7,590;  hogs,  $5,360  ;  sheep,  |;816;  and  fowls, 
$320. 

Wabash. — A  great  many  animals  died  of  the  various  diseases  to  which  each  class  ia 
subject  during  the  year.  The  value  of  the  losses  are  about  as  follows  :  Horses,  $12,960  ; 
mules,  $1,700  ;  cattle,  $12,810  ;  hogs,  $19,456  ;  sheep,  $1,424. 

Wayne. — Cholera  proved  very  disastrous  to  hogs  in  this  county  during  the  year- 
The  number  reported  as  having  died  of  the  disease  was  9,253,  valued  at  $92,530.  Some 
cattle  died  of  murrain  and  sheep  of  liver-fluke.     Fowls  sutfered  from  cholera. 


Adair. — No  destructive  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  in 
this  county  for  the  last  two  years. 

AUaviakee. — Farm  animals  have  generally  continued  in  good  health  the  past  season. 
In  some  localities  diseases  liave  prevailed  among  hogs,  but  not  to  the  sweeping  extent 
of  the  years  1880-'81.  The  same  might  be  said  as  regards  fowls.  Some  2,800  hogs 
have  died,  valued  at  $14,000. 

Bremer. — As  to  diseases  aiiecting  different  kinds  of  farm  animals,  I  frequently  hear 
it  remarked  that  cattle,  horses,  and  hogs  were  never  more  free  from  disease  than  they 
have  l)eeu  the  past  year.  One  assistant  says:  Now  and  then  a  calf  dies  with  what 
is  known  as  black-leg,  but  these  deaths  do  not  amount  to  one  iu  fifty. 

Buchanan. — The  following  figures  representthe  value  of  the  losses  among  farm  stock 

in  this  county  for  the  year  1883  :  Horses,  $15,000  ;  cattle,  $3,750;  hogs,  $7,500  ;  sheep, 

$180.     The  mortality  among  horses  was  maiuly  caused  by  influenza.     Abortion  has 

prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  amoug  cows,  and  has  caused  some  deaths.    No 

enaedy  or  prevention  is  known.     Hogs  have  died  of  the  disease  known  as  cholera. 

Butler. — The  only  epidemic  disease  that  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  animals 
has  been  that  among  hogs.  I  think  the  value  of  the  animals  lost  will  not  exceed 
$4,000. 

Calhoun. — A  disease  recently  broke  out  among  cattle  in  one  of  the  townships  of  this 
county,  which  resulted  iu  the  death  of  a  number  of  animals.  The  disease  was  black- 
leg, or  something  similar.  Cholera  has  prevailed  among  fowls,  but  to  no  great  ex- 
tent. 

Cedar. — Our  horses  have  been  afflicted  with  pink-eye  and  distemper.  Cattle,  as  a 
rule,  have  been  quite  healthy.  A  few  cases  of  black-leg  have  occurred.  Cholera,  or 
some  kind  of  lung  complaint,  caused  by  worms  and  neglect,  have  caused  the  loss  of  a 
great  many  hogs.     Some  rot  has  prevailed  among  sheep. 

Chickasaw. — The  disease  most  prevalent  among  hogs  seems  to  be  hard  to  naiue  and 
equally  as  difficult  to  prevent.  Iu  some  places  it  is  called  quinsy,  and  in  other  locali- 
ties cliolera.  But  i^  does  not  prevail  amoug  our  hogs  t-o  so  great  an  extent  as  in  other 
years.  In  a  limited  area  of  our  county  during  the  fall  months  horses  were  afflicted 
with  an  influenza  which  it  was  feared  at  the  time  would  prove  very  disastrous,  but  I 
believe  it  has  entirely  abated. 

Cliuion. — As  a  general  thing  all  kinds  of  farm  aiiimals  in  this  county  are  in  good 
health.     Hogs  valued  at  $4,000  have  been  lost  during  the  year  by  the  usual  diseases. 

Crawford. — I  estimate  the  value  of  the  losses  of  farm  stock  in  this  county  the  past 
year  as  follows  :  Horses,  $3,100  ;  cattle,  $1,560;  hogs,  $3,600;  sheep,  $200. 


r 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTIOATED    ANIMALS.        317 


Davis. — We  have  been  very  lucky  with  our  stock  this  year,  no  disease  of  any  kind 
worthy  of  meutioii.     About  800  sheep  have  been  killed  by  dogs. 

Decatur. — Never  in  the  history  of  the  county  have  farm  animals  been  so  generally 
healthy.  Every  assistant  makes  the  same  report.  I  believe  this  result  is  attributa- 
ble to  the  shortness  of  grain  to  feed  with. 

Delaware. — Horses  and  cattle  have  been  healthy,  but  hogs  have  suifered  to  some  ex- 
tent with  the  usual  diseases.    Auinials  perhaps  to  the  value  of  .fiSjOOO  have  been  lost, 

Dubuque. — The  only  disease  that  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  domestic  animals 
in  this  county  the  past  year  has  been  the  disease  known  as  cholera  among  hogs.  I 
cannot  give  the  number  or  value  of  those  lost. 

Emmet. — The  losses  among  farm|animals  in  this  county  have  been  so  insignificant 
for  the  past  year  that  they  are  not  worth  recording. 

Fayette. — A  few  herds  of  hogs  have  been  affected  by  disease,  but  the  losses  have 
been  comparatively  light.     No  disease  has  prevailed  in  an  epidemic  form. 

Floyd. — Epizootic  influenza  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  amoug  horses,  and  a  few 
cases  of  glanders  have  been  reported.  Cattle  have  suifered  with  lung  diseases  and 
hogs  with  cholera.  The  losses,  as  to  value,  have  been  about  as  follows:  Horses, 
>;i,000;  cattle,  !5!:i,750  ;  hogs,  $7,500. 

Greene. — Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  are  in  good  health.  The  prevailing  disease  amoug 
hogs  and  fowls  is  that  known  as  cholera.  The  value  of  the  hogs  lost  by  this  disease  is 
about  $4,000,  and  chickens  about  $900. 

Hardin. — Some  cholera  has  prevailed  among  hogs  and  fowls.  Sometimes  this  dis- 
ease will  carry  oh"  almosr,  every  hog  one  farmer  will  have,  while  those  of  a  neighbor 
\\  ill  not  be  afi'ected.  I  think  $15,000  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  those  lost  by  the 
malady. 

Henry. — No  disease  among  farm  animals,  and  no  losses  except  from  old  age,  acci- 
dent, &c. ;  cholera  prevailed  among  fowls  during  the  mouths  of  July,  August,  and  Sep- 
tember. 

Ida. — One  thousand  dollars  will,  perhaps,  cover  the  losses  among  hogs  by  disease. 
Xu  other  class  of  animals  have  been  afflicted  in  this  county  the  past  year. 

Iowa. — Farm  stock  has  been  unusually  healthy  the  past  year.  No  epidemic  has  pre- 
vailed.    Comuion  diseases,  neglect,  and  accident  have  caused  about  the  usual  losses. 

Jasper. — The  only  disease  worthy  of  notice  is  that  prevailing  among  swine  and 
fowls.  The  per  cent,  of  disease  among  the  former  will  not  exceed  2  per  cent.,  and 
amoug  the  latter  about  5  per  cent. 

Jefferson. — Chicken  cholera  prevails  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  every  year,  and  the 
Josses  from  this  cause  are  often  very  serious.  Farm  animals  generally  are  in  good 
heal     . 

Lee. — Among  horses  there  has  been  no  epidemic  of  note  for  several  years.  We  hear 
occasionally  of  a  case  of  pink-eye,  colic,  bots,  and  meningitis.  Cattle  have  also  been 
atlected  to  some  extent  this  season  with  piuk-eye.  Calves  frequently  die  of  black-leg. 
Sheep  are  more  frequently  troubled  with  scab  than  any  or  perhaps  all  other  diseases. 
Grub  in  the  head  kills  its  proportion.  Some  sheep  died  of  hoven  during  the  two 
past  wet  seasons.  Fowls  have  been  subject  to  but  one  disease — that  known  as 
cholera — and  this  frequently  depopulates  whole  farm-yards  of  chickens  and  turkeys. 
Almost  all  epidemics  among  domestic  animals  are  confined  to  smaller  areas  than 
formerly  ;  sometimes  to  but  one  farm,  section  or  township.  A  few  years  ago,  hog 
and  chicken  cholera  generally  extended  over  one  or  more  States.  Black-leg  in  cattle 
was  never  so  general  or  wide-spread  as  now. 

//i»H.— No  epidemic  has  visite<l  horses,  but  the  vast  number  of  unsound  ones  is  ap- 
l)alling.  The  number  of  halt,  blind,  ring-boned,  spavined,  &c.,  is  astounding  to  a 
close  observer.  A  few  cattle  have  died  of  ordinary  diseases.  Some  little  cholera 
among  chickens. 

Marion. — During  the  past  three  months  influenza  has  been  destructive  to  many 


318  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

yoiiug  hogs.  Swiue  plague  has  also  prevailed  in  certain  localities.  Scab  and  foot-rot 
have  caused  losses  among  several  different  liocks  of  sheep. 

Alitchell. — Domestic  animals  generally  are  healthy,  and  have  been  so  throughout 
the  year.  The  diseases  that  have  prevailed  from  time  to  time  have  been  the  usual 
well-known  maladies.  The  value  of  the  losses  are  estimated  as  follows:  Horses, 
;ii8,3r)0;  cattle,  |5, 000  ;  hogs,  $2,500  ;  sheep,  $250. 

Monona. — Some  cattle  have  died  of  black-leg  during  tlie  year.  Some  little  disease 
has  prevailed  auiong  hogs,  but  the  losses  have  been  light. 

Monroe. — No  contagious  diseases  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of  domestic  ani- 
mals in  this  county  during  the  year  except  black-leg  among  calves.  These  cases  have 
been  few.     Cholera  has  killed  a  great  mauy  fowls. 

O^Brien. — For  two  seasons  our  horses  have  suffered  from  an  epizooty.  It  left  many 
with  a  running  at  the  nose.  In  careless  hands  the  discharge  has  run  along  until 
many  horses  here  are  suffering  from  au  offensive  nasal  disease  called  every  name  be- 
tween bad  cold  and  glanders. 

Palo  Alto. — Farm  animals  generally  are  healthy.  I  have  not  heard  of  a  case  of 
contagious  disease  among  hogs  for  the  past  year. 

Fli/mouth. — Horses  in  some  localities  in  this  county  are  said  to  have  chronic  glan- 
ders, which  is  causing  some  excitement.  A  disease  called  measles  has  prevailed  among 
hogs,  causing  some  losses. 

Pottawattamie. — Last  spring,  in  one  neighborhood  in  the  county,  a  new  and  quite 
strange  disease  appeared  among  both  horses  and  cattle.  It  was  pronounced  "button- 
farcy  "  in  horses.     The  symptoms  were  similar  in  cattle. 

Shell)!/. — There  has  been  some  disease  followed  by  fatal  results  among  horses  and 
cattle  the  past  year,  but  swine  have  been  healthy.  A  great  many  fowls  have  also 
died. 

Tama. — Horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  fowls  are  in  good  health  and  condition.  Hogs  are 
dying  to  an  alarming  extent  throughout  the  county  with  both  quinsy  and  cholera. 
These  diseases  broke  out  about  sis  weeks  ago. 

Washington. — There  is  no  disease  prevailing  among  farm  animals  in  this  county. 
Even  the  hog  cholera  has  disappeared.  Perhaps  this  is  owing  to  a  very  poor  crop  of 
corn. 

Woodhuri). — Horses  are  healthy.  A  fe^  cattle  die  aunually  of  black-leg.  Hogs  are 
comparatively  healthy.  Now  and  then  a  farmer  loses  his  pigs,  and  a  few  grown  hogs 
die  of  cholera.     Chicken  cholera  is  quite  prevalent. 


Allen. — Stock  has  generally  been  healthy  in  this  county.  I  know  of  some  5  head 
of  fine  steers,  worth  f 300,  that  died  of  Texas  fever.  A  few  cattle  were  also  reported 
to  have  died  after  being  turned  luto  stock  fields.  I  think  they  died  for  want  of  suf- 
ficient water. 

Barhour. — The  horses  in  this  county  are  Texas  animals,  and  die  principally  from  eat- 
ing Loco,  a  poisonous  weed.  They  also  die  of  itch  and  other  skin  diseases.  A  great 
many  cattle  have  died;  perhaps  the  valiu^.  of  those  lost  in  the  county  will  aggreg.ate 
$20,000.  They  have  to  get  their  living  on  the  range,  and  during  a  severe  winter  many 
die  from  exposure.  The  same  mtiy  be  said  of  sheep,  of  which  there  is  a  large  num- 
ber in  this  county. 

Barton. — Stock  is  in  good  health  and  condition  in  this  county.  Occasionally  an 
animal  is  lost  by  accident,  but  one  seldom  dies  of  disease. 

Brown. — The  county  assessors  make  the  following  returns  as  to  the  value  of  ani- 
mals lost  in  this  county  the  past  year  from  all  causes,  viz :  Horses,  $9,900  ;  cattle, 
$8,280;  hogs,  $10,995  ;  sheep,  $345  ;  mules,  $1,125. 

Butler. — This  county  contains  a  large  number  of  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep,  but  they 
have  been  measurably  free  from  disease  during  the  year.  Perhaps  50  head  of  cattle 
would  cover  all  the  loss  worthy  of  recording. 


I 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        319 

Cherokee. — Texas  fever  prevailed  to  a  limited  extent  amoug  some  herds  of  cattle  iu 
this  county,  but  the  value  of  the  animals  lost  by  the  disease  Avould  not  exceed 
$2,000.  All  classes  of  animals  are  in  good  Lealtli,  and  the  losses  liave  been  compar- 
atively small. 

Coffey. — With  the  exception  of  an  outbreak  of  Texas  fever'  among  cattle  in  the 
southeastern  portion  of  this  county,  all  classes  of  domestic  animals  have  been  free 
from  contagious  diseases  during  the  past  year.  The  mortality  among  cattle  reached 
between  3,000  and  4,000  head. 

Crawford. — So  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn,  all  kinds  of  farm  animals  are  healthy  and 
doing  well.  Grain  and  grass  are  l)oth  abundant.  Some  fowls  have  died  with  roupe 
and  cholera. 

Decatur. — Pink-eye  is  the  x)revailing  disease  among  horses,  and  black-leg  among 
cattle.     A  great  many  sheep  have  died  from  disease  and  othes  causes. 

Dickinson. — The  value  of  the  losses  of  domestic  animals  the  past  year  in  this  county 
from  all  causes  aggregate  as  follows:  Horses,  $10,675;  cattle,  |i9,8G0 ;  hogs,  $5,170; 
sheep, §547. 

Doniphan. — In  the  early  part  of  the  season  quite  a  number  of  cattle  died.  The 
cause  in  most  cases  was  the  result  of  turning  the  animals  into  corn-tields  from  green 
pastures,  or  into  yards  where  they  were  fed  on  husks.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
learn,  about  100  head  died,  mostly  feeding  steers. 

Ellis. — A  great  many  of  our  horses  and  mules  have  been  attacked  with  gleet  or 
farcy,  so  called  by  many,  and  by  others  pronounced  glanders.  They  have  invariably 
died  where  not  killed.  A  great  many  deaths  have  occurred  among  calves  and  year- 
lings from  black-leg.  As  a  preventive  we  give  salt,  sulphur,  saltpeter,  and  copperas 
in  the  proportion  of  1  bushel  salt,  4  pounds  sulphur,  i  pound  saltpeter,  and  1  jiouud 
copperas ;  mix  thoroughly,  aud  place  in  troughs  where  the  animals  can  have  free  ac- 
cess to  it.     Some  scab  exists  among  sheep. 

Elk. — The  aggregate  value  of  farm  animals  lost  in  this  county  during  the  past  year 
is  given  as  follows  :  Horses,  $8,440 ;  cattle,  $9,360 ;  hogs,  $14,183  ;  sheep,  $1,378. 
Seventy-eight  sheep  were  killed  by  dogs. 

Greenwood. — I  estimate  the  value  of  the  losses  among  domestic  animals  iu  this  county 
for  the  past  year  from  all  causes  as  follows:  Horses,  $10,000;  cattle,  $10,000  ;  hogs, 
$8,000 ;  sheep,  $1,250. 

Harper. — Our  losses  among  cattle  from  Texas  fever  alone  has  been  at  least  $15,000. 
My  own  opinion  istbat  the  estimate  is  too  low.  Parties  naturally  hesitate  to  admit  their 
full  losses.  Black-leg  among  young  stock  has  caused  considerable  loss.  Over  one- 
half  of  the  sheep  of  the  county  are  affected  with  scab.  The  number  in  the  county  is 
perhaps  over  30,000.  Nearly  every  flock  owner  dips  his  sheep  thoroughly  after  shear- 
ing, yet  many  flocks  are  again  infected  by  introducing  diseased  bucks  among  them. 
Have  not  heard  of  a  sick  hog  in  the  county  the  past  season. 

Harvey. — Stock  of  all  kinds  doing  well  at  present.  Cattle  have  died  from  exposure 
and  accidents,  and  some  calves  of  black-leg.  A  few  hogs  have  died  of  the  usual  dis- 
eases, and  some  pigs  from  exposure.  A  few  lambs  have  also  died  from  exposure,  and 
a  great  many  sheep  of  scab. 

Johnson. — The  various  diseases  affecting  farm  animals  are  hard  to  determine,  but 
the  value  of  the  losses  in  this  conuty  may  be  stated  as  follows :  Horses,  $7,840 ;  cat- 
tle, $16,500  ;  hogs,  $3,900  ;  sheep,  $107. 

Labette. — I  tind  it  difficult  to  determine  the  value  of  animals  lost  by  disease  during 
the  year,  but  1  think  the  following  a  very  fair  estimate,  viz  :  Horses,  $16,200 ;  cattle. 
$9,.540;  hogs,  $9,848;  sheep,  $630. 

Lane.— The  principal  disease  that  prevailed  among  our  cattle  the  past  season  was 
Texas  fever.  It  appeared  late  in  the  season,  and  was  caused  by  driving  Texas  cattle 
through  the  county.  Scab  is  prevailing  to  a  considerable  extent  among  sheei>,  of 
which  a  good  many  die.  Sheep  and  cattle  raising  is  the  princii»al  industry  of  this 
coiintv. 


320         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Lincoln. — Some  horses  have  died  of  distemper  or  pink-eye,  aud  a  good  many  young 
cattle  of  black-leg.  Some  older  animals  have  died  of  dry  murrain.  A  report  recently 
received  from  the  northwestern  .section  of  the  county  states  that  a  great  many  cattle 
have  died  there  within  the  prist  few  days  of  an  unknown  disease.  A  di.sease  confined 
to  young  pigs  in  the  central  part  of  the  county  has  been  quite  fatal.  I  lost  27  in  two 
days,  and  another  man  15  in  the  same  length  of  time.  Some  called  the  disease  quinsy, 
but  I  don't  think  it  was. 

Meade. — About  500  horses  and  mules  died  iu  this  county  the  past  year  of  pink-eye, 
aud  perhaps  900  head  of  cattle  by  disease,  old  age,  accident,  &c.  There  are  about 
100,000  sheep  in  the  county,  of  which  25  per  cent,  generally  die  of  scab. 

Montgomery. — No  epidemic  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  animals  in  this  county, 
aud  the  following  losses  have  been  caused  by  the  ordinary  maladies  to  which  domes- 
tic animals  are  subjecl*,  viz:  Horses,  $15,500;  cattle,  115,000;  hogs,  $12,000;  sheep, 
$6,500.     Chicken  cholera  hiis  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent  in  some  localities. 

Neosho. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  our  horses.  Calves  and  year- 
lings have  been  afflicted  to  some  extent  with  anthrax,  or  black-leg.  There  seems  to 
be  no  remedy  for  this  disease.  About  all  those  that  are  attacked  die,  aud  are  gener- 
ally dead  before  they  are  known  to  be  sick.  A  great  manj'  pigs  under  six  months  old 
have  died.  Old  and  f;it  hogs  are  seldom  attacked  by  disease.  Fowl  cholera  prevails 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

Osborne. — Horses  have  been  exempt  from  any  special  epidemic.  Black-leg  has  pre- 
vailed and  proved  quite  fatal  to  cattle  iu  some  localities.  There  has  been  no  epidemic 
among  hogs.  Scab  among  sheep  prevails,  but  not  to  as  great  an  extent  as  formerly. 
Black-leg  among  cattle  is  the  chief  dread  among  stockmen  aud  farmers. 

OtUm-a.---l  hear  of  a  flock  of  Mexican  or  grade  Merino  sheep,  composed  of  about  900 
head,  all  of  which  are  afflicted  with  scab.  No  other  class  of  animals  in  this  county 
seems  to  be  afflicted  with  contagious  diseases. 

Pawnee. — The  only  contagious  disease  I  have  to  record  occurred  during  the  past 
season  among  a  herd  of  cattle  in  this  county.  The  disease  was  Texas  or  Southern 
fever.  The  animals  were  placed  in  charge  of  a  veterinary  surgeon,  who  promptly 
quarantined  the  herd  and  prevented  the  spread  of  the  disease. 

Phillips. — Pneumonia  or  lung  fever  has  caused  the  death  of  a  few  horses  iu  this 
county.  The  disease  known  as  Ijlack-leg  has  i) roved  very  fatal  to  cattle.  Animals 
one  year  old  and  younger  sutler  most.  At  least  one-half  of  those  attacked  die.  The 
only  disease  atfectiug  sheep  is  scab.  Great  complaint  prevails  as  to  the  disease  known 
as  cholera  among  chickens. 

Eatvlins. — There  have  been  a  few  cases  of  Texas  itch  among  horses,  a  disease  which 
is  very  effectively  treated  with  mercurial  ointment.  There  have  been  a  few  cases  of 
black-leg  among  cattle,  and  one  case  of  murrain.  The  opinion  prevails  among  the 
owners  of  cattle  that  the  Texas  trail  brings  fever  with  it,  as  the  losses  generally  occur 
within  the  near  vicinity  of  this  trail.  Cattle  along  the  trail  are  infested  with  lice,  or 
ticks,  as  they  are  termed  by  some.  But  they  look  like  common  lice,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  being  larger  and  having  gray  heads.  Sheep  are  afflicted  with  the  scab,  aud 
are  treated  by  dipping  in  tobacco  wash. 

Bene. — Glanders  is  getting  pretty  well  distributed  over  this  county,  and  many  horses 
die  every  year  of  it.  Some  cholera  prevails  among  hogs  Moie  care  is  being  taken  of 
stock  than  formerly.  Farmers  are  beginning  to  learn  that  more  feed  and  better  shel- 
ter, with  less  loss,  is  the  better  vray. 

PooJcs. — No  disease  of  a  contagious  character  among  horses.  Black-leg  is  about  the 
only  fatal  disease  among  cattle.  Hogs  suffer  more  in  hot  weather  than  during  the 
colder  season.     A  few  cases  of  quinsy  have  occurred  among  pigs. 

Washington. — Some  horses  have  died  of  catarrhal  and  lung  fever.  Cattle  have  suf- 
fered to  a  considerable  extent  with  black-leg,  aud  hogs  with  quinsy  and  catarrhal 
troubles.  The  great  loss  among  pigs  was  cau.sed  by  th')  sows  having  sulTcred  with 
these  diseases.     The  young  animals  had  not  vitality  enough  to  live. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        321 

Wyandotte. — The  only  dinease  of  a  contagious  character  prevailing  among  any  class 
of  farm  animals  is  scab  among  sheep.  The  disease  known  as  cholera  still  prevails 
among  fowls. 

KENTUCKY. 

Allen. — There  have  been  a  few  cases  of  cholera  among  hogs  in  some  localities,  and 
some  chicken  cholera,  but  the  losses  have  been  light. 

Breclcinridge. — With  the  exception  of  cholera  among  hogs,  there  has  been  no  disease 
of  consequence  prevalent  among  any  class  of  animals  in  the  county.  The  cholera  has 
been  very  fatal  to  hogs,  but  as  yet  the  disease  is  confined  to  one  locality. 

Boyle. — Pink-eye  has  been  quite  pievalent,  and  several  fine  horses  and  mares  ha\iB 
died  from  the  effects  of  the  disease.  Hog  cholera  and  Texas  fever  of  cattle  destroyed 
a  good  many  of  our  animals  in  1882,  but  the  diseases  have  not  made  their  appearance 
this  year. 

Calloway. — No  disease  among  horses  or  cattle.  Hogs  are  dying  at  a  rapid  rate  in 
one  locality  in  this  county.  The  disease  does  not  seem  to  be  like  the  cholera  in  all 
respects.  The  animals  droop,  refuse  to  eat,  have  very  sore  nose,  the  bellj'  is  tucked 
up,  and  the  excrement  hard.  They  die  in  from  3  to  10  days.  About  70  per  cent.  die. 
The  value  of  the  loss  up  to  this  time  is  $17,860. 

Carter. — Horses  and  cattle  are  healthy.  A  considerable  number  of  hogs  died  in  1882, 
and  also  in  this  year,  but  I  am  unable  to  give  the  number  or  value  of  the  losses. 
Cholera  is  quite  prevalent  among  fowls. 

Clinton. — With  the  exception  of  a  severe  type  of  epizootic  distemper  among  horses 
all  classes  of  farm  animals  are  free  from  disease.  I  have  heard  of  no  deaths  from  the 
disease. 

Crittenden. — Cattle  have  died  of  hollow-horn,  hogs  of  cholera,  sheep  of  rot,  and 
chickens  of  cholera.    The  losses  have  not  been  very  heavy  in  either  class. 

Cumherland. — Hogs  valued  at  $3,000  have  died  of  thumps  in  this  county  the  past 
year.  The  greatest  fatality  has  been  among  young  hogs.  Chicken  cholera  has  pre- 
vailed all  over  the  county,  and  has  been  quite  serious  in  some  localities. 

Fayette. — Some  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  have  died  from  accidental  causes,  but  there 
has  been  no  epidemic  among  either  class  of  these  animals.  Hogs  and  fowls  have  died 
to  some  extent  from  cholera,  but  the  disease  is  certainly  less  prevalent  than  a  few 
years  ago. 

Grayson. — No  fatal  diseases  have  prevailed  among  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  Great 
fatality  has  been  caused  among  pigs  in  some  localities  by  a  disease  known  as  measles. 

Green. — Cattle  and  sheep  sufler  from  the  various  diseases  to  which  such  animals 
are  incident.  Hogs  and  poultry  suffer  principally  from  the  disease  known  as  cholera. 
Hogs  valued  at  $10,920  have  been  lost  during  the  year,  and  chickens  valued  at  per- 
haps $1,1.52. 

Greenup. — Comparatively  little  disease  among  farm  stock  in  this  county. 

Hancock. — No  disease  among  farm  animals  at  present,  though  at  this  season  of  the 
year  such  disorders  generally  appear. 

Harlan. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  have  been  comparatively  healthy  for  the  past 
year. 

Hopkins. — All  kinds  of  animals  and  fowls  have  been  exceedingly  healthy  the  past 
year.  I  think  this  is  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  observance  of  the  advice  given 
by  the  veterinary  surgeons  appointed  by  the  Government  to  investigate  the  diseases 
of  animals.  I  have  largely  distributed  these  reports,  and  have  been  greatly  benefited 
myself  by  the  information  they  contain.  I  have  not  lost  a  hog  by  cholera  since  read- 
ing these  reports. 

Jessamine. — Some  hog  choler.a  has  prevailed  in  this  county,  but  there  has  been  no 
disease  among  other  classes  of  animals  the  j)ast  year. 

Johnson. — In  the  spring  cattle  in  this  section  arc  subject  to  murrain,  which   gener- 
ally proves  fatal.     Hog  cholera  is  very  troublesome  to  farmers  and  hog-raisers  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.     Sheep  are  affected  with  rot  to  some  extent. 
5751  D  A 21 


322         CONTAGIOUS   DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Kenton. — A  great  niauy  cattle  die  every  season  of  dry  murrain.  There  Lave  been 
some  losses  by  bog  cholera. 

Knox. — Hogs  died  throughout  this  county  the  past  j^ear  of  cholera.  Other  farm 
animals  have  generallj^  been  healthy. 

Lawrence. — Farm  animals  have  been  unusually  healthj-  the  past  year.  Cholera  has 
prevailed  to  some  extent  among  fowls,  but  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  number  that 
have  died. 

Letcher. — No  disease  of  consequence  has  prevailed  among  farm  animals  in  this 
county.     A  few  hogs  and  fowls  have  died  of  the  so-called  cholera. 

Leivis. — In  some  localities  whole  herds  of  hogs  have  been  swept  away  by  cholera. 
There  have  been  some  losses  among  other  classes  of  animals,  but  they  have  not  been 
heavy. 

Lincoln. — I  presume  that  10  per  cent,  of  all  our  hogs  annually  die  of  cholera. 
Great  numbers  of  fowls  also  die  annually  of  a  like  disease. 

JUadison. — An  occasional  case  of  pink-eye  among  horses  is  reported.  Cholera  pre- 
vails among  swine  and  jioultry.  When  cholera  attacks  hogs  (and  it  has  been  more 
prevalent  than  usual),  it  affects  most  of  the  herds,  and  50  per  cent,  or  more  die. 

Martin. — Hog  cholera  is  the  most  destructive  stock  disease  known  here.  Other 
classes  of  animals  are  healthy. 

McLean. — The  loss  of  hogs  in  this  county  has  not  been  so  great  the  past  year  as 
usual.  Just  now  I  hear  of  no  corai>laint.  The  disease  did  its  work  during  the  months 
of  July  and  August.     A  few  cases  of  pink-eye  have  occurred  among  horses. 

Menifee. — The  disease  prevailing  among  hogs  here  seems  to  be  unknown.  Some  call 
it  cholera  and  others  pronounce  it  sore  throat,  caused  by  the  faulty  mast. 

Mercer. — A  large  number  of  all  classes  of  farm  animals  have  been  lost  by  the  vari- 
ous diseases  to  which  they  are  subject  during  the  jiast  year.  I  will  state  that  more 
sheep  were  killed  by  dogs  than  were  lost  by  disease. 

Monroe. — No  epidemic  among  either  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  Hog  cholera  j)revails 
in  some  localities  in  the  county,  as  does  also  chicken  cholera. 

Montgomery. — No  disease  of  any  kind  among  domestic  animals  or  fowls  in  this  county 
the  past  year  or  in  1882. 

Miihlenhurg. — After  consultation  with  farmers  in  different  parts  of  the  county,  I  find 
that  all  classes  of  farm  animals  are  in  a  healthy  condition.     No  disease  in  1882. 

Nicholas. — Horses  and  cattle  are  healthy.  Some  little  cholera  among  hogs,  but  not 
much,  say  2  per  cent,  of  disease,  of  which  1  per  cent.  die.  Cholera  prevails  to  some 
extent  among  fowls. 

Owen. — We  have  no  disease  among  our  farpi  stock  worthy  of  note. 
Oivsley. — No  disease  among  stock.     Something  like  cholera  or  roupe  prevails  among 
fowls.     About  all  that  are  attacked  by  the  disease  die.     No  remedy  appears  to  do  any 
good.     The  fowls  frequently  drop  off  the  roost  dead. 

Fike. — Horses  are  afflicted  with  distemper,  bots,  and  colic,  cattle  with  murrain, 
quinsy,  and  sore  throat,  hogs  with  quinsy  and  occasionally  cholera,  and  fowls  with 
cholera. 

Boherison.—l  have  no  gen&ral  or  fatal  disease  to  report  as  affecting  farm  animals  in 
this  county. 

Bock  Castle. — No  prevailing  disease  among  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  Some  hog  cholera 
prevails;  perhaps  2  per  cent,  of  the  animals  iu  the  county  have  been  attacked. 

Russell. — Hogs  have  been  affected  in  a  few  localities  by  swine-plague.  A  like  dis- 
ease has  been  more  general  among  fowls. 

Scott. — We  have  no  prevailing  disease  among  our  farm  animals  except  cholera  among 
hogs.     Fowls  are  also  afflicted  with  a  similar  disease. 

Shelby.— Hogs  valued  at  between  $7,000  and  $8,000  have  been  lost  by  cholera  during 
the  year.    A  number  of  fowls  have  died  of  the  same  disease. 

Taylor. — Wo  have  no  losses  to  report  among  our  farm  stock  by  disease  of  a  conta- 
gious character. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        823 

Trimhle. — Our  county  is  uniisnally  healthy  for  farm  animals.  Never  any  disease 
among  any  class  except  an  occasional  case  of  hog  cholera. 

Union. — Horses  and  cattle  have  been  unusually  healthy.  A  great  loss  has  been  oc- 
casioned by  hog  cholera.  More  animals  have  been  affected  with  the  disease,  and  it  is 
thought  that  more  died,  this  summer  than  during  the  six  years  preceding.  The  value 
of  the  losses  may  be  set  down  at  $50,000  or  $60,000.  No  remedy  has  been  lound  for 
the  disease.     A  few  sheep  have  died  of  rot. 

Wushinyion. — Horses  and  mules  have  suffered  from  pink-eye.  Cattle  have  been 
visited  by  an  unknown  epidemic.  Cholera  has  been  more  fatal  to  hogs  than  usual. 
Sheep  have  suffered  from  various  causes  and  ailments. 

Whitleii. — The  only  loss  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  has  been  among  hogs. 
I  think  $10,000  would  cover  the  value  of  these  losses.  The  disease  affecting  both  hogs 
iiud  fowls  is  known  here  as  cholera. 

LOUISIANA. 

Bienville. — None  but  ordinary  and  common  diseases  have  affected  farm  stock  iu 
this  county  the  past  year. 

Bossier. — Horses,  mules,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  have  been  extremely  healthy  this 
fall,  and  all  are  doing  well. 

Catahoula. — Value  of  horses  lost  the  past  year,  $2,334.50;  value  of  cattle  lost, 
$3,727.50.  Hogs  have  continued  very  healthy.  A  few  sheep  have  died  of  pleurisy 
and  pneumonia. 

Franklin. — Horses  have  been  aftlicted  with  glanders,  staggers,  charbon,  and  big- 
head  ;  cattle  Avith  charbon,  big-head,  and  hollo w-horn  ;  hogs  with  staggers,  and  sheep 
with  rot. 

Iberville. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  have  been  healthy  during  the  year.  There 
has  been  some  fowl  cholera. 

Jackson. — Less  disease  among  horses  this  year  than  for  twenty-five  years  past. 
Cholera  and  mange  have  been  fatal  to  a  great  many  hogs.  Cholera  has  also  been  de- 
structive to  fowls. 

La  Fourche. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  animals  the 
past  year. 

Livingston. — The  following  are  perhaps  correct  estimates  of  the  value  of  farm  ani- 
mals lost  in  this  county  the  past  year,  viz:  Horses,  $170;  cattle,  $1,500;  hogs,  $2,000; 
sheep,  $750. 

Madison. — We  have  but  few  hogs,  and  no  malady  among  them.  YTe  have  a  groat 
many  fowls  and  plenty  of  chicken  cholera. 

Morehouse. — All  kinds  of  animals  are  healthy.  Our  soil  is  destitute  of  gravel,  and 
we  have  to  grind  up  old  crockery,  «fcc.,  for  our  fowls.  When  this  is  neglected  cholera 
appears  among  them  and  kills  from  10  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number. 

Bichland. — Much  stock  was  lost  by  the  overflow  in  this  county,  and  many  cattle 
were  afterward  forwarded  to  Texas,  so  that  we  have  but  few  of  this  class  of  animals 
left.     No  disease  of  conse(|uence. 

Saint  Helena. — During  October  and  November  a  disease  prevailed  among  our  hogg 
which  was  said  to  be  cholera.  In  the  higher  piney  woods  portion  of  the  parish  the 
diitcase  killed  many  hogs — as  near  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  full  50  per  cent. 

Saint  Marifs. — We  have  but  little  stock  in  this  county,  and  what  we  have  is  iu  a 
remarkably  healthy  condition. 

Saint  Tammany. — None  but  common  diseases  have  visited  any  class  of  farm  animals 
the  past  year,  and  the  losses  have  been  very  light. 

Vernon. — With  the  exception  of  sheep,  all  classes  of  domestic  animals  have  remained 
healthy. 

Jf'esI  Carroll. — We  have  lost  quite  a  number  of  all  classes  of  farm  animals  during 
the  year  by  disease.     The  diseases,  however,  have  not  been  of  a  contagious  character. 


324         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


Androsco(jgin. — Horses,  cattle,  hogs,  aiid  sheep  are  in  about  the  same  condition  as  to 
liealth  as  last  year. 

Cumberland. — Domestic  animals  have  been  very  free  from  epidemic  diseases.  Pink- 
eye has  prevailed  to  some  extent  aniong  horses,  but  no  cases  have  proved  fatal.  An 
unknown  disease  prevailed  among  horses  to  some  extent  last  fall,  of  ^vhich  several 
died.  Some  attributed  it  to  poison,  and  others  thought  it  a  congestive  fever.  The 
horse  would  be  suddenly  attacked,  lose  the  use  of  his  hind  legs,  as  well  as  all  power 
to  swallow.  If  on  the  road,  in  harness,  would  fall  without  warning,  never  to  rise 
again, 

Franldin. — An  occasional  case  of  pink-eye  has  been  reported  among  our  horses,  but 
no  deaths  have  occurred  from  it.    No  other  diseases  among  farm  animals. 

Kennebec. — Pink-eye  and  epizooty  in  a  mild  form  have  jirevailed  among  horses. 
Cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  are  healthy. 

Oxford. — All  kinds  of  domestic  animals  are  reported  healthy  in  this- county. 

Penobscot. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  are  healthy.  There  has  been  no  special  dis- 
ease among  our  cattle  during  the  past  twenty  years. 

Somtrsft. — Horses  are  reported  to  have  had  lung  troubles.  Some  cows  coming  in 
have  been  sick.  Sheep  have  had  the  foot-rot,  but  the  percentage  of  loss  to  the  whole 
number  has  been  exceedingly  small.  There  have  been  no  epidemic  or  contagious  dis- 
eases. 

Washington. — With  the  exception  of  pink-eye  among  horses,  with  no  fatal  results, 
I  can  hear  of  the  prevalence  of  no  disease  among  the  farm  stock  of  this  county. 

Tork. — The  domestic  animals  of  this  county  have  been  free  from  all  kinds  of  epi- 
demic diseases  during  the  past  year. 

MARYLAND, 

Anne  Arundel. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  among  farm  stock  in  any  part  of  the 
county,  and  losses  have  only  been  such  as  usually  occur  from  accident  or  to  such  acute 
attacks  as  animals  are  sometimes  subject. 

Baltimore. — My  district  has  been  afflicted  by  a  disease  among  fattening  hogs,  which 
spread  to  others  in  this  and  adjoining  districts.  I  myself  lost  all  but  one  sow,  some 
20  head,  and  my  neighbors  on  each  side  of  me  for  a  mile  lost  all  they  had.  .  The  dis- 
ease was  so  rapid  in  its  results  (death)  that  we  were  not  able  to  make  much  use  of 
remedies,  or  take  steps  to  prevent  its  spread.  Tlie  symptoms  were  so  difierent,  or 
were  described  so  differently,  that  I  am  unable  to  give  an  account  that  would  cover 
any  but  my  own  cases,  although  I  am  sure  that  what  caused  my  loss  was  the  same  as 
that  which  caused  the  loss  of  my  neighbors.  My  pigs  commenced  to  mope;  refused 
food;  jaws  seemed  to  lock;  some  had  cough,  and  were  dead  in  a  day  or  two,  except 
in  one  or  two  instances  in  which  they  limped  and  broke  out  into  sores  all  over  the 
body.  The  first  one  attacked  recovered,  which  she  did  without  having  been  given 
anything  in  the  shape  of  medicine.  The  neighbors  doctored  and  gave  medicine,  but 
lost  their  animals  just  as  I  did.  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  use  all  the  remedies  rec- 
ommended, because  I  could  not  tell  jnst  what  ailed  the  hogs,  and  preferred  to  trust 
to  nature  and  good  food  and  nursing,  rather  than  be  doubtful  after  whether  I  or  the 
disease  killed  them.  I  know  the  loss  must  have  been  much  heas'ier  than  I  have  rep- 
resented ($-2,.5()0),  as  I  have  just  learned  from  one  coming  in  of  additional  cases  in  va- 
rious localities,  enough  to  raise  my  estimate  $.500. 

Calvert. — This  has  been  an  unusually  healthy  year  for  all  kinds  of  farm  animals  in 
this  county.  There  have  been  no  deaths  that  I  can  hear  of  except  such  as  are  inci- 
dent to  accident  and  old  age. 

Frederick. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  disease  among  either  horses,  cattle,  hogs, 
sheep,  or  fowls;  hence  the  losses  have  been  occasioned  by  accident  or  old  age. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        325 

Garrett. — I  do  not  hear  of  the  prevalence  of  any  disease  among  horses,  cattle,  or 
sheep.     Hog  cholera  prevails  to  some  extent,  but  not  so  generally  as  last  year. 

Howard. — "We  take  good  care  of  onr  stock  by  stabling  and  sheltering,  as  a  rule;  hence 
we  rarely  have  destructive  diseases  among  our  farm  animals. 

Prince  George's. — I  have  heard  of  no  epidemic  among  farm  animals  of  any  kind  in  our 
county.  A  neighbor  of  mine  bought  a  yoke  of  young  oxen,  large,  fine  animals,  which 
cost  him  .filOO;  a  mouth  or  so  ago  they  were  taken  with  weakness  across  the  loins, 
and  could  not  raise  upon  their  hind  legs  or  feet.  They  lingered  for  three  weeks  and 
both  died.     The  State  veterinarian  pronounced  the  disease  Texas  fe%'er. 

Somerset. — In  some  parts  of  the  county  the  swine  plague  is  now  prevailing  quite 
seriously,  but  the  area  over  which  the  disease  extends  is  not  large.  I  have  heard  of 
no  disease  among  fowls  this  year. 

Talbot. — We  have,uo  disease  among  stock  or  poultry.  Occasionally  a  few  hogs  die 
but  the  cause  can  generally  be  traced  to  drinking  impure  water  or  eating  poisonous 
matter.     All  animals  are  in  remarkably  good  health  at  this  time. 

Washington. — The  value  of  the  losses  anu)ng  farm  animals  in  this  county  the  past 
year  may  be  estimated  as  follows:  Horses,  §4,000  ;  cattle,  §2,500;  hogs,  §1,200;  sheep, 
^600  ;  and  fowls,  §150. 

Worcester. — During  the  current  year  there  have  been  no  jirevailing  diseases  among 
any  class  of  farm  animals,  and  the  sporadic  cases  of  sickness  and  death  have  been  so 
rare  and  scattered  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  give  reliable  data. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Berlshire. — Few  horses  have  died  from  the  disease  known  as  pink-eye.  Hogs  have 
suffered  to  a  considerable  extent  from  cholera.  I  should  think  §2,000  worth  have 
been  lost  by  the  disease.     Cattle,  sheep,  and  fowls  are  in  comparative  good  health. 

Dukes. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  domestic  animals  in  this  county 
the  current  year. 

FranJilin. — Among  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs  in  this  county  the  losses  have  not  been 
over  1  per  cent,  by  disease  the  iiast  year.  There  has,  perhaps,  been  a  loss  of  3  per 
cent,  among  sheep. 

Plymouth. — An  animal  very  rarely  dies  of  disease  in  this  county.  Much  of  this  is 
due  to  the  kind  provision  made  for  all  kinds  of  domestic  animals. 

MICHIGAX. 

Allegan. — Our  fiirm  animals  are  rarely  attacked  by  fatal  diseases.  Occasionally  a 
horse  contracts  cold  which  settles  on  his  lungs  and  he  dies.  Cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep 
are  healthy. 

Bemie. — No  diseascsof  an  epidemic  or  contagious  character  seemtohave  visited  the 
farm  stock  of  this  county  the  past  year. 

Calhoun. — Horses  have  suffered  from  a  mild  type  of  pink-eye,  which  has  seldom 
proved  fatal.  Several  deaths  have  occurred  from  colic,  inflammation  of  the  lungs, 
and  other  diseases  common  to  horses.  There  has  Iteen  no  epidemic  among  hogs,  cat- 
tle, or  sheep  during  the  year. 

Cass. — There  have  been  several  fatal  cases  of  pink-eye  among  the  horses  in  this 
county.  It  seems  to  have  prevailed  throughout  the  county.  Milk  fever  has  been  the 
most  destructive  disease  that  has  prevailed  among  cattle.  There  have  been  some 
lung  troubles,  but  no  cholera,  among  hogs.  Some  loss  of  sheep  from  diseases  in  the 
head,  but  more  from  lung  affections  caused  by  colds. 

Charlevoix. — I  have  heard  of  tlie  prevalence  of  no  disease  of  any  kind  among  the 
stock  in  this  county  the  current  year. 

Clare. — So  far  as  I  can  learn,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  disease  of  consequence 
among  farm  animals  in  this  county  during  the  year. 

Crawford. — Eight  horses  have  died  during  the  year  with  what  was  supi^osed  to  be 
pink-eye.     No  other  domestic  animals  have  suffered  to  any  extent. 


326  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Delta, — I  cau  Iiear  of  no  disease  of  a  contagious  nature  prevailing  among  any  class 
of  farm  animals  in  this  county. 

Genesee. — No  epidemic  diseases  have  prevailed  among  stock  in  this  countj\  The 
following  is  perhaps  a  fair  estimate  of  the  losses  among  all  classes  of  animals  for  the 
year,  the  result  of  disease,  old  age,  accident,  &c.,  viz  :  Horses,  $3,500  ;  cattle,  $1,250 ; 
hogs,  $1,125;  sheep,  $1,875;  fowls,  $1,000. 

Gladwin. — No  destructive  disease  of  any  character  has  visited  any  class  of  domestic 
animals  in  this  county  the  past  year. 

Huron. — No  epidemic  has  visited  either  our  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  or  hogs  during 
the  past  year.     I  have  not  oven  heard  of  a  case  of  glanders. 

Ingham. — The  following  is  probably  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  losses  among 
farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  current  year :  Horses,  $14,700 ;  cattle,  $7,000  ;  hogs, 
$2,250 ;  sheep,  $1,660 ;  and  fowls,  $1,000. 

Ionia, — We  have  had  no  disease  of  consequence  that  I  can  hear  of  among  either 
horses,  cattle,  hogs,  or  sheep  during  the  year. 

Jackson. — There  has  been  no  disease  of  any  kind  among  animals  in  this  county,  and 
the  deaths  have  only  been  those  arising  from  natural  causes,  and  have  been  rather 
under  than  over  the  usual  annual  average. 

Kalamazoo — No  contagious  or  epidemic  disease  among  animals  in  this  county. 

Lapeer. — Farm  animals  go  into  winter  quarters  in  first-rate  condition.  No  disease 
of  a  general  character  prevalent. 

Leelenaw. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  are  very  healthy.  Horses  have  suffered  to 
some  extent  from  epizooty,  and  a  few  cattle  have  died  of  dry  murrain.  A  few  sheep 
have  died  of  pneumonia. 

LivingsioH. — It  seems  impossible  to  get  the  information  you  desire.  However,  there 
has  been  no  destructive  disease  of  any  kind  among  our  domestic  animals  during  the 
past  year. 

Macomb. — A  good  many  young  horses  annually  die  in  this  county.  There  has  been 
no  disease  among  cattle  and  hogs.  Sheep  seldom  recover  when  attacked  by  disease. 
Many  fowls  die  of  cholera.    Some  farmers  have  lost  their  entire  flocks  by  the  disease. 

Manilou. — No  disease  worthy  of  mention  among  farm  stock.  A  great  many  fowls 
have  been  lost  by  disease. 

Marquette. — The  only  disease  among  horses  is  a  swelling  of  the  hind  legs.  They  do 
not  die  of  it,  but  when  they  get  very  bad  they  are  shot,  as  the  swelling  gets  so  large 
they  become  useless.     I  have  no  other  diseases  to  report. 

Mecosta. — I  can  safely  say  that  there  has  been  no  epidemic  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  during  the  present  year. 

Oceana. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  disease  among  the  farm  animals  of  this  county 
during  the  past  season. 

Osceola. — No  diseases  among  farm  stock  in  this  county. 

Oscoda. — Very  few  animals  in  this  county,  and,  of  course,  but  little  disease.  I  do 
not  know  of  a  sheep  in  ihe  county. 

Ottawa. — But  few  farm  animals  are  ever  affected  with  disease  in  this  county,  and 
only  those  that  are  improperly  treated  or  exposed  to  inclement  weather. 

Presque  Isle. — I  have  no  case  of  disease  or  death  from  contagious  diseases  among 
farm  stock  to  report  for  this  county. 

Saginaw. — All  kinds  of  domestic  animals — horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep — in  this 
county  are  in  a  very  healthy  condition. 

Saint  .loseph. — I  am  unable  to  get  accurate  information  in  regard  to  losses  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county,  but  1  am  satisfied  they  are  very  small. 

Tuscola. — The  only  losses  that  have  occurred  among  our  farm  animals  have  been 
caused  by  old  age,  accident,  &c. 

Van  Buren. — No  prevailing  disease  among  animals  in  this  county  that  I  know  of, 
except  among  breeding  sows.  Cannot  say  how  many  animals  have  died ;  perhaps 
thirty  head  in  the  county. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        327 

Washtenaw. — Horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  are  all  free  from  contagious  and  in- 
fectious diseases.     Stock  of  every  kiud  iu  this  county  is  in  good  condition. 

Wayne. — I  do  not  know  of  the  loss  of  any  stock  in  this  county  the  past  year,  except 
from  natural  causes. 

MINNESOTA. 

Beclcer.—k.s  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  farm  animals  of  this  county  have  been  quite  free 
from  disease  the  past  year.  In  cases  where  distemper,  lung  fever,  and  influenza  have 
occurred  they  have  generally  been  caused  either  by  the  carelessness  of  exposing  ani- 
mals to  sudden  changes  of  temperature  from  a  heated  state  to  a  cold  or  chilled  one, 
or  from  being  confined  in  damp  stables. 

Big  Stone.— There  are  no  diseases  prevailing  among  farm  stock  here.  A  few  horses 
have  been  killed  by  overwork. 

Blue  Earth. — Animals  of  all  kinds  are  free  from  disease. 

Brown. — A  few  farm  animals  have  been  lost  in  this  county  by  disease,  more  cattle 
perhaps  than  animals  of  any  other  class. 

Carver. — There  has  been  no  mortality  from  disease  among  farm  animals  in  this 
county  for  the  past  ten  years.     Fowls  are  afflicted  with  cholera. 

Chisago. — No  disease  of  any  kind  is  afflicting  our  stock,  for  which  we  are  duly 
thankful. 

Chippeua. — There  has  been  no  disease  among  horses,  hogs,  or  sheej).  Some  few  cat- 
tle have  died  of  black-leg,  but  not  so  many  as  in  former  years, 

Dakota. — No  disease  among  our  domestic  animals. 

Dodge. — There  have  been  a  few  deaths  among  horses  from  pink-eye,  and  from  black- 
leg among  cattle.  A  few  hogs  have  died.  During  the  past  twenty-eight  years  the 
farm  animals  of  this  county  have  not  suffered  from  any  fatal  epidemic  disease. 

Fillmore. — There  have  been  some  losses  of  young  cattle  from  the  disease  known  as 
black-leg.  A  few  hogs  have  died  of  a  disease  pronounced  cholera,  but  I  have  not 
seen  a  case  of  real  hog  cholera  in  the  county.  There  have  been  losses  among  fowls, 
but  no  more  than  usual. 

Houston. — Pink-eye  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  horses,  but  it  has  not  often 
been  fatal.  No  disease  this  year  among  cattle  or  hogs.  Fowl  cholera  has  prevailed 
to  a  limited  extent.     This  disease  seems  to  be  disappearing. 

Jackson. — No  contagious  or  infectious  disease  is  prevailing  among  any  class  of  do- 
mestic animals  or  fowls.     A  few  young  cattle  died  during  the  season  from  black-leg. 

Kanabec. — I  have  no  losses  worth  recording  among  the  farm  animals  of  this  county 
for  the  past  year. 

Lao- Qui- Parle. — Stock  of  all  kinds  perfectly  healthy.  Few  animals  die  except  from 
old  age  or  mismanagement  in  feeding  and  watering. 

Lake. — There  are  but  few  domestic  animals  of  any  kind  in  this  county.  The  only 
losses  that  occur  are  among  draught  horses,  caused  by  overwork,  carelessness,  &c. 

Lc  Sueur. — A  few  cases  of  epizooty  have  occurred  among  horses.  Cattle,  hogs,  and 
sheep  are  in  good  health  and  condition. 

Lowndes. — The  losses  caused  by  disease  among  the  farm  animals  of  this  county  the 
past  year  are  very  small.     No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed. 

McLeod. — A  few  cases  of  pink-eye  have  occurred  among  horses,  and  black-leg  has 
prevailed  to  some  extent  among  cattle.  Young  anim.als  of  the  age  of  one  and  two 
years  have  suffered  most.  It  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  stock- raisers  if  the  cause 
and  a  remedy  for  this  disease  could  be  discovered.  During  some  seasons  a  great  many 
young  cattle  die  of  it. 

Martin. — There  has  been  no  disease  among  stock  in  this  county  this  year — that  is, 
not  sufficient  to  be  worthy  of  note.     Some  cattle  have  died  of  black-leg. 

Meeker. — As  far  as  I  can  learn — and  I  have  had  good  facilities  for  obtaining  infor- 
mation— there  has  been  no  loss  of  stock  from  disease  worthy  of  mention  during  the 
year. 


328  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Morrison  — But  very  few  farm  animals  have  died  of  disease  during  the  past  year. 
No  epidemic  of  any  kind  has  prevailed  among  stock. 

Nicollet. — No  destructive  disease  to  record  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  in  tliis 
county. 

Nobles. — Farm  animals  of  every  class  have  always  been  very  healthy.  The  value  of 
the  losses  for  the  past  year  are  therefore  not  worth  recording. 

Norman. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  farm  stock  the 
past  year.  The  only  losses  that  have  occurred  were  caused  by  want  of  proper  care  in 
feeding  and  watering  animals. 

Olmsted. — Diseases  among  farm  animals  are  so  rare,  and  the  fatality  so  small,  that 
the  losses  are  not  considered  worthy  of  recording. 

Pine. — After  careful  inquiry  I  cannot  learn  that  there  has  been  any  particular  dis- 
ease prevalent  among  the  domestic  animals  of  this  county  during  the  current  year. 
This  is  not  a  stock-raising  county  in  any  sense. 

Pojye. — Pink-eye  has  prevailed  more  or  less  among  horses.  One  man  lost  six  ani- 
mals. Cattle  have  been  affected  with  black-leg,  and  hogs  with  cholera.  Some  cases 
of  rot  have  occurred  among  sheep. 

Bedwood. — The  past  year  has  been  a  very  favorable  one  for  farm  animals.  I  cannot 
learn  of  a  sufficient  number  of  losses  to  make  a  basis  for  any  sort  of  a  report. 

Bice. — No  epidemic  diseases  have  been  noted  among  farm  animals  the  i)a8t  year. 
Fowls  have  been  diseased,  and  the  losses  have  been  quite  heavy.  Considerable  interest 
is  being  manifested  in  the  raising  of  imj)roved  breeds,  especially  horses  of  larger  types. 
An  interest  is  also  being  awakened  in  the  dairy  industry,  for  which  this  county  seems 
well  adapted. 

Scott. — The  only  losses  that  have  occurred  among  farm  auiinals  in  this  county  the 
past  year  have  been  the  result  of  natural  causes,  accidents,  &g. 

Sherburne. — Occasionally  ahorse  dies  from  old  age,  a  cow  from  milk  fever,  and  a 
calf  from  scouring.  The  loss  will  not  amount  to  1  per  cent,  per  annum  to  any  class  of 
animals. 

Sibley. — Pink-eye  has  prevailed  among  horses  and  black-leg  among  cattle.  I  pre- 
sume cattle  worth  |1,000  have  died  during  the  year  of  the  latter  disease. 

Stearns. — Nothing  but  the  usual  horse  distemper  has  appeared  among  any  class  of 
our  farm  stock  during  the  past  year. 

Steele. — No  epidemic  among  farm  animals  the  past  year.  Losses  among  all  classes 
have  been  confined  to  very  young  or  very  old  animals,  thus  greatly  reducing  the  aver- 
age value  of  those  lost. 

Stevens. — I  have  no  losses  among  farm  animals  from  disease  of  sufficient  magnitude 
to  report. 

Traverse. — There  has  been  no  disease  among  our  stock  which  has  assumed  au 
epidemic  form.  A  few  animals  have  died  of  disease,  but  the  percentage  has  been 
small. 

Watonwan. — No  disease  among  horses.  Occasionally  one  dies  from  abuse,  old  age, 
or  natural  cause.  The  only  disease  among  cattle  has  been  an  occasional  case  of  black" 
leg.  Young  calves  suffer  most.  One  percent,  will  cover  the  losses  from  this  disease. 
There  has  been  no  disease  among  hogs  or  sheep. 

Winona. — All  classes  of  farm  animals  have  remained  free  from  contagious  or  epidemic 
diseases  during  the  past  year. 

Wright. — There  has  been  no  special  disease  among  our  farm  animals  during  the  year. 
A  great  many  sheep  have  been  killed  by  dogs  and  wolves.  Many  farmers  have  been 
compelled  to  give  up  trying  to  rear  this  class  of  stock. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

Alcorn. — Very  few  deaths  have  occurred  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  from 
disease.  The  losses  among  each  class  have  been  small,  and  generally  from  natural 
causes. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMBISTICATED    ANIMALS.        329 

Amite. —Among  horses,  mules,  and  cattle  we  have  had  no  prevailiunj  disease  this 
year  nor  the  year  previous  worth  mentioniu;^.  Hogs,  sheep,  and  fowls  suffered  to  some 
extent  early  in  the  spring,  during  the  wet  season. 

Benton. — There  has  heen  very  little  disease  of  an  epidemic  character  among  our 
farm  animals  the  past  year;  hence  our  losses  have  been  small. 

Calhoun. — Xo  disease  among  farm  stock  the  past  year. 

Carroll. — No  epidemic  has  prevailed  among  the  farm  stock  of  this  county,  and  the 
losses  for  the  past  year  have  been  nominal. 

Choctaw. — The  farm  animals  of  this  county  have  been  measurably  free  from  disease 
the  past  year.  There  have  been  a  few  cases  of  charbon  among  cattle  and  cholera 
among  hogs. 

Copiah. — There  has  been  no  disease  among  our  farm  animals.  Chicken  cholera  has 
bsen  widespread  aud  destructive.     Mauj^  persons  have  lost  almost  their  entire  flocks. 

Covington. — The  only  disease  of  consequence  that  has  visited  our  farm  animals  is 
that  of  cholera,  which  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  hogs.  The  losses  have 
been  light. 

Greene. — The  only  loss  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  has  been  among  sheep.  A 
great  many  of  these  animals  have  been  destroyed  by  dogs,  in  addition  to  those  which 
have  died  of  disease. 

Harrison. — No  losses  from  disease  among  our  farm  stock  for  the  jiast  year. 

Hinds. — No  serious  disease  has  occurred  among  any  class  of  our  farm  animals.  A 
number  of  cattle  died  during  the  winter  from  exposure  to  inclement  weather.  Some 
winters  our  losses  are  very  heavy  for  lack  of  adequate  protection  to  stock. 

Jasper. — Tliere  has  been  some  distemper  among  horses.  Hogs  have  suffered  with 
cholera,  and  sheep  with  a  disease  called  sore-head. 

Marshall. — Horses  have  died  of  blind-staggers,  piuk-eye,  and  colic,  but  the  majority 
of  poverty.  Cattle  have  died  of  murrain,  and  a  great  many  also  of  poverty.  Hogs 
worth,  perhaps,  .$7,000  or  -f  S,000  have  died  of  a  disease  denominated  swine  fever  or 
hog  cholera.  Sbeep  are  afiiicted  with  rot.  Large  numbers  of  fowls  have  died  of 
cholera,  as  described  by  veterinary  reports. 

Neicton. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  of  any  kind  among  our  farm  animals  during 
the  year.     Even  fowl  cholera  has  not  been  so  troublesome  as  formerly. 

Oktibbeha. — Some  little  cholera  has  prevailed  among  hogs,  and  occasionally  there  has 
been  a  case  of  blind-staggers  among  horses,  but  nothing  like  an  epidemic  has  occurred 
among  any  class. 

Simpson. — Cholera  has  swept  off  about  one-half  the  hogs  in  this  county;  value, 
over  $12,000.  A  new  disease  prevailed  among  cattle,  which  destroyed  a  great  many 
head.     They  lived  only  about  twenty-four  hours  after  being  attacked. 

Tippah. — There  have  been  no  losses  from  disease  among  the  farm  animals  of  this 
county  worthy  of  reporting. 

Tishomingo. — The  past  year  has  been  a  very  favorable  one  for  farm  animals  in  this 
county.     No  disease  of  consequence  has  visited  any  class. 

Union. — Hog  cholera  has  prevailed  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county,  but  it  has 
not  been  very  destructive. 

Warren. — Texas  fever  has  prevailed  among  our  cattle.  All  those  attacked  died. 
Nine  of  my  own  cattle  died  within  three  days.  Native  cattle  were  not  affected — only 
the  imported  animals  seemed  to  be  susceptible.  Sheep  arealllicted  with  flukes.  Those 
afflicted  with  this  disease  will  all  die  if  not  physicked. 

Wayne. — Distemper  has  occurred  among  both  horses  aud  sheep,  murrain  among  cat- 
tle, and  cholera  among  hogs  and  fowls. 

Winston. — Some  fifteen  or  sixteen  horses  have  died  this  year  from  distemper.  No 
other  disease  of  a  destructive  character  has  prevailed  among  stock. 


330         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


MISSOURI. 

Adair. — No  disease  of  a  destructive  nature  has  occurred  among  farm  animals  or 
fowls  in  this  county  during  the  year. 

Barry. — Distemper  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  horses,  and  a  few  cases  have 
proved  fatal.  About  20  per  cent,  of  our  hogs  have  been  affected  with  cholera  and 
about  10  per  cent,  of  those  affected  have  died.     Cholera  also  prevails  among  fowls. 

Bollinger. — No  destructive  diseases  have  visited  any  class  of  our  farm  animals  dur- 
ing the  past  year.    They  are  healthy  without  exception. 

Caldwell. — During  the  past  year  the  losses  caused  by  disease  among  farm  animals 
in  this  county  have  been  comparatively  small.  No  disease  of  a  very  maliguant  char- 
acter has  prevailed. 

Carter. — All  four  classes  of  farm  animals  have  been  exceedingly  healthy  throughout 
this  county  the  past  year. 

Cedar. — Afew  cases  of  distemper  and  glanders  have  occurred  among  horses.  Cholera 
prevails  among  hogs,  and  about  half  the  number  attacked  die.  Dogs  destroy  a  great 
many  sheep.  Cholera  prevails  to  a  wide  extent  among  fowls,  and  about  all  that  are 
attacked  die. 

Crawford. — We  have  had  no  fatal  diseases  among  our  stock  the  present  year. 

Dallas. — The  deaths  from  disease  among  our  farm  animals  have  been  so  few  that  I 
am  unable  to  even  approximate  the  value  of  the  losses. 

Daviess. — There  has  been  no  destructive  disease  among  our  domestic  animals.  Chol- 
era has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  fowls. 

Dent. — I  have  heard  of  no  losses  among  farm  animals  during  the  present  year. 

Douglas. — Our  horses  are  healthy.  Black-leg  has  occurred  among  cattle,  and  hogs 
have  been  afflicted  with  cholera. 

Franklin. — The  principal  cause  of  disease  among  our  horses  is  over-feeding  with 
corn  or  oats,  and  then  too  much  water  and  over  driving.  In  winter  cattle  are  lost 
from  neglect,  both  as  to  feed,  water,  and  shelter.  Hogs  ai:e  lost  by  improper  shelter 
and  too  much  corn — in  other  words,  a  lack  of  a  sufficient  variety  of  food  and  clear 
water  to  drink. 

Gasconade. — No  diseases  of  a  fatal  character  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm 
anim 

Greene. — So  far  as  I  can  learn,  there  is  no  prevailing  disease  among  domestic  ani- 
mals. We  occasionally  have  an  epidemic  among  hogs  and  poultry,  but  just  now  not 
any. 

Harrison. — Farm  animals  in  this  county  the  past  year  have  been  unusually  healthy. 
No  epidemic  disease  has  appeared  among  them. 

Hickory. — We  have  had  no  hog  cholera  in  this  county  since  1875-'76. 

Holt. — No  epidemics  exist  among  domestic  animals  in  this  county.  The  diseases 
tbat  usually  affect  horses  and  mules  are  the  result  of  hard  usage.  The  losses  from 
various  causes  may  be  stated  thus:  150  horses,  ,f 7,500;  50  cattle,  $1,500;  500  hogs, 
$1,000;  30  mules  and  asses,  $2,250. 

Jefferson. — But  few  diseases  of  a  fatal  character  have  visited  our  farm  animals  the 
past  year.  The  value  of  the  losses  may  be  thus  given :  Horses,  $2,000 ;  cattle,  $10,200; 
hogs,  $300 ;  sheep,  $200. 

Johnson. — In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county  considerable  cholera  prevails 
among  pigs  and  small  shoates.  Fully  three-fourths  of  those  attacked  die.  As  a  rule, 
farm  aninuils  are  healthy  in  this  county. 

Laclede. — Wc  have  no  disease  to  amount  to  anything  among  either  horses,  cattle, 
hogs,  sheep,  or  fowls.     A  very  limited  number  of  cases  of  hog  cholera  have  occurred. 

Lawrence. — Several  cases  of  Texas  fever  occurred  among  cattle  in  this  county  last 
summer.  Hog  cholera  prevails  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  I  cannot  give  the  value 
of  the  losses. 

lAncoln, — We  have  had  no  contaarious  disease  among  horses  or  cattle.     Cholera  has 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATEu    ANIMALS.        331 

prevailed  among  both  bogs  and  cbickens,  and  rot  and  scab  auioug  sbeej).  The  value 
of  the  losses  among  swiue  has  been  about  $24,000 ;  among  sheep,  $6,250 ;  and  fowls) 
$2,000  or  $3,000, 

Linn. — We  have  had  no  disease  among  farm  stock  in  this  county  the  past  year  to 
amount  to  anything. 

Livingston. — No  disease  except  among  hogs  and  fowls.  Hogs  are  more  healthy  than 
they  have  been  in  the  past  eight  years.  The  losses  this  year  will  perhaps  loot  up 
$15,000.  The  losses  among  fowls  have  been  quite  heavy;  the  value  will  perhaps 
reach  $7,500. 

Macon. — There  have  been  but  few  fatal  cases  of  disease  among  our  farm  animals 
the  past  year. 

Madinon. — About  3  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  of  this  county  have  died  during  the  year  of 
disease.     Two  per  cent,  of  the  horses  and  one  per  cent,  of  the  cattle  have  also  died. 

Miller. — A  large  number  of  hogs  have  died  of  cholera  during  the  year.  Other  classes 
of  animals  have  remained  in  good  health. 

Moniteau. — This  is  not  only  a  remarkably  healthy  county  for  all  kinds  of  live  stock, 
but  this  has  been  an  exceptionally  healthy  year,  so  much  so  that  we  consider  it 
proper  to  report  no  diseases  or  losses  at  all. 

Monroe. — No  fatal  disease  has  prevailed  to  any  considerable  extent  among  the  domes- 
tic animals  and  fowls  in  this  county  during  the  past  year.  A  few  cases  of  black-leg 
among  calves  and  cholera  among  hogs  have  occurred.  Fowl  cholera  has  also  prevailed 
to  a  limited  extent.  This  fatal  disease  among  fowls  can  be  controlled  or  prevented 
by  the  use  of  hyposulphite.  We  have  fully  tested  it  during  the  past  two  years.  It 
is  a  valuable  medicine. 

^Yeit>  Madrid. — The  total  value  of  animals  and  fowls  lost  in  this  county  by  disease 
the  past  year  is  $18,641.87.  About  $16,000  of  this  amount  is  attributable  to  diseases 
among  hogs.  Several  cattle  died  of  an  unknown  disease.  The  livers  of  those  I  ex- 
amined were  rotton. 

Xewton. — There  have  been  no  losses  of  consequence  among  our  fai'm  animals  by 
disease  the  past  year. 

jVbiau'rti/. ^Distemper  of  an  epizootic  character  has  been  quit'e  fatal  to  horses  in 
this  county.  Pink-eye  and  black-leg  have  visited  our  cattle,  and  cholera  has  been 
quite  prevalent  among  hogs  and  fowls.  The  following  estimates  of  our  losses  are 
given:  Horses,  $30,000;  cattle,  $4,000;  hogs,  $20,000;  sheep,  $1,500;  fowls,  $2,000. 

Osage. — No  disease  of  an  epidemic  character  has  appeared  among  any  class  of  farm 
stock  except  cholera  or  swine  plague.  I  suppose  hogs  to  the  value  of  $5,000  have  died 
of  this  disease  the  past  year. 

Ozark. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  or  fatal  disease  of  any  kind  among  our  domes- 
tic animals  during  the  year 

Platte. — For  the  last  year  or  two  all  kinds  of  animals  in  this  county  have  been  re- 
markably healthy.  This  is  no  doubt  owing  to  the  fact  that  farmers  are  taking  bet- 
ter care  of  their  stock  than  in  former  years. 

Pulaski. — Cattle  are  about  the  only  farm  animals  that  have  been  afflicted  during  the 
past  year.  The  disease  known  as  black-leg  has  prevailed  among  them,  and  a  great 
many  calves  and  yearlings  have  died. 

Putnam. — Th'fe  following  estimates  of  the  value  of  losses  among  farm  animals  from 
all  causes  are  given  for  the  current  year:  Horses,  $25,000;  cattle,  $62,500;  hogs, 
$10,000;  sheep,  $2,500  ;  and  fowls,  $1,000. 

Randolph. — The  value  of  animals  lost  in  this  county  the  past  year  from  disease  and 
natural  causes  is  given  as  follows:  Horses,  $3,200 ;  cattle,  $10,000;  hogs,  $5,700  ;  sheep, 
$4,600,  and  fowls,  $1,250.  When  a  horse  or  cow  is  att'ected  with  disease  the  owners 
endeavor  to  cure  them,  but  with  hogs,  sheep,  and  fowls  nothing  is  done. 

Saint  Charles. — Hog  cholera  has  prevailed  to  some  extent,  and  has  proved  very  fatal 
to  the  animals  attacked.     The  value  of  the  losses  will  reach  $7,000. 

Saint  Louis. — Have  hoard  of  six  horses  diseased  with  glanders,  of  which  three  died. 


332  CONTAGIOUS   DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Have  heard  of  but  one  lot  of  hogs  afflicted  with  disease.  They  have  somethiug  like 
diarrhea  or  flux.     Some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them  died.     Other  animals  are  healthy. 

Schuyler. — Cattle  have  suffered  with  black-leg  and  hogs  with  cholera.  Sheep  are 
becoming  badly  affected  with  scab.  Fowls  have  been  afflicted  with  the  usual  disease — 
cholera. 

Shelby. — Farm  animals  of  all  kinds  are  healthy.  Fowls  die  every  year  of  cholera 
and  roupe. 

Stoddard. — The  only  loss  I  have  to  record  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  has 
been  among  hogs.     The  value  of  the  losses  have  been  small.     Will  not  exceed  $-2,000. 

Taney. — I  can  hear  of  no  disease  except  black-leg  among  cattle.  This  has  been 
quite  prevalent,  and  is  generally  fatal.  The  value  of  the  losses  from  this  disease  will 
perhaps  reach  $4,000. 

Verno». — No  fatal  epidemic  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  our  farm  animals  during 
the  year. 

Warren. — The  health  of  all  classes  of  farm  animals  here  was  never  better  than  now. 

Wayne. — The  value  of  the  losses  from  disease  among  our  farm  aniraals  during  the  past 
year  is  estimated  as  follows:  Horses,  $7,500  ;  cattle,  $2,750;  hogs,  $2,500 ;  sheep,  $1,300; 
and  fowls,  $225. 

NEBRASKA. 

Adams. — So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  no  disease  of  any  consequence  has 
prevailed  among  our  farm  animals  during  the  past  year. 

Antelope. — So  insignificant  have  been  the  losses  by  disease  among  domestic  animals 
that  I  do  not  deem  them  worthy  of  report. 

Boone. — Horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  are  remarkably  healthy — no  disease  of  any 
kind.     A  horse  dies  occasionally  of  old  age  or  accident. 

Ca8s. — Cattle  and  hogs  are  the  only  classes  of  animals  that  have  suffered  with  dis- 
ease in  this  county.  Cattle  have  been  afflicted  with  black-leg  and  hogs  with  cholera 
and  lung  diseases. 

Cedar. — The  losses  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  by  disease  the  present  year 
have  been  very  light. 

Dawson. — But  few  farm  animals  have  been  lost  by  disease  in  this  county  during  the 
year. 

Douglas. — Five  or  six  horses  died  during  the  year  of  pink-eye.  In  the  fall  some 
cattle  died  of  indigestion,  caused  by  eating  corn  husks.  We  have  lost  some  hogs  and 
fowls  by  cholera,  and  some  sheep  have  died  of  scab. 

Furnas. — Animals  of  all  kinds  have  generally  been  healthy  the  jiast  year.  A  few 
horses  have  died  from  change  of  climate,  overwork,  «&c.  In  some  localities  cattle 
have  died  of  the  disease  known  as  black-leg.  I  have  no  losses  to  report  among  hogs, 
sheep,  or  fowls. 

Hall. — Black-leg  has  lately  made  its  appearance  among  some  herds  of  cattle  which 
have  been  allowed  to  feed  without  restraint  upon  newly  husked  corn  fields.  I  be- 
lieve this  to  be  the  principal  cause  of  the  disease.  No  other  disease  has  appeared 
among  fiirm  stock.     Chicken  cholera  prevails  in  some  localities. 

Hamilton. — I  have  heard  of  but  very  few  cases  of  disease  among  farm  animals  in  this 
county.  There  has  been  considerable  loss  by  chicken  cholera.  Some  farmers  have 
lost  all — others  few. 

Johnson. — All  farm  animals  are  iu  good  health  and  condition.  No  epidemic  has  oc- 
curred during  the  year. 

Kearney. — I  have  no  losses  to  report  from  diseases  among  domestic  animals  for  the 
past  year. 

Lancaster. — I  can  obtain  no  reliable  data  as  to  losses  among  farm  animals  iu  this 
county  for  the  current  year. 

Merrick. — Some  horses  have  been  lost  during  the  year  by  diseases  incident  to  them. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        333 

Cattle,  bogs,  and  sheep  are  healthy.  Cholera  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among 
fowls. 

Nemaha. — There  is  so  little  disease  or  loss  among  farm  animals  the  current  year  as 
to  hardly  be  worth  mentioning.  Some  distemper  and  piuk-eye  among  horses,  but  no 
loss.  A  few  cases  of  "  kidney  worm  "  among  hogs,  which  readily  yields  to  treatment, 
and  scab  among  sheep. 

Phelps. — The  only  loss  among  farm  animals  worthy  of  record  has  been  among 
sheep.     I  suppose  $1,000  would  cover  the  value  of  these  losses. 

Platte. — No  epidemic  has  appeared  among  the  domestic  animals  of  this  county  for 
the  current  year. 

Polk. — No  fatal  diseases  among  farm  animals.  Chicken  cholera  has  been  quite 
prevalent  and  fatal. 

Richardson. — Scarcely  any  disease  among  the  farm  animals  of  this  county.  I  do  not 
know  personally  of  the  death  of  a  horse,  cow,  or  hog  during  the  season,  and  my  loca- 
tion is  a  central  one. 

Saitndey-s. — I  have  been  unable  to  hear  of  the  prevalence  of  any  fatal  disease  among 
live  stock  in  this  county. 

Webster. — With  the  exception  of  hog  cholera,  no  other  contagious  disease  seems  to 
have  visited  any  class  of  our  farm  animals  during  this  year. 


Esmeralda. — Horses  have  been  afflicted  with  distemper  and  lung  fever.  The  latter 
has  proved  very  fatal  to  stallions.  Black-leg  has  been  quite  fatal  to  calves  and  year- 
ling cattle.  It  has  been  fatal  in  almost  every  instance.  The  symptoms  are  the  swell- 
ing of  one  or  more  of  the  legs.  Sometimes  the  swelling  is  confined  to  the  hip  or  side 
of  the  neck  and  head.  After  death  the  part  alfected  becomes  badly  bloodshotteu. 
No  remedy  has  been  found  for  the  malady. 

Lyon. — Lung  fever  has  proved  fatal  to  some  horses,  and  black-leg  has  been  very 
fatal  to  cattle.     Hogs  and  sheep  are  healthy. 

Nye. — The  annual  losses  of  farm  animals  iu  this  county  from  disease  are  trivial. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Belknap. — There  has  been  no  prevailing  disease  among  animals  in  this  county  the 
current  year.  Some  few  animals  have  died,  but  I  am  unable  to  form  any  idea  of  the 
number  or  value.     It  must  be,  however,  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  whole  number. 

Cheshire.  —No  epidemic  disease  among  horses,  cattle,  or  hogs.  Some  foot-rot  among 
sheep  and  diseases  among  fowls. 

Coos. — No  epidemic  disease  of  any  nature  has  prevailed  among  our  farm  animals 
during  the  year.     The  losses  have  been  comj)aratively  small. 

Hillsborough. — I  hear  of  but  few  losses  of  cattle,  sheep,  or  hogs  during  the  past  year. 
No  epidemic  has  occurred  among  either  class  of  domestic  animals. 

Sullivan. — The  value  of  the  farm  animals  lost  in  this  county  by  disease  the  current 
year  will  probably  aggregate  iu  the  neighborhood  of  $5,000,  as  follows:  Horses, 
12,400  ;  cattle,  $1,500  ;  hogs,  $-250 ;  sheep,  $700. 

NEW   JERSEY. 

Atlantic. — I  have  hoard  of  no  contagious  or  epidemic  diseases  existing  among  our 
farm  animals.  The  increase  of  live  stock  in  this  county  since  18(^0  has  been  at  least 
15  per  cent. 

Camden. — All  classes  of  farm  animals  liavo  been  unusually  exempt  from  disease  the 
past  year.  I  canot  hear  of  a  case  of  contagions  disease  that  has  proved  fatal.  Fowls 
have  sulfcred  with  cholera,  but  tliis  disease  yields  readily  to  treatment  with  sniphur 
and  sulpiiiiric  acid. 

Cape  May. — No  diseases  exist  among  farm  animals  or  fowls  in  this  county.    Occasion- 


334         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

ally  there  is  a  case  of  pink-eye  among  horses,  but  the  disease  rarely  proves  fatal.  Some 
loss  among  fowls  by  disease. 

Essex. — With  one  exception  there  has  been  no  contagion  among  horses  or  cattle  in 
this  county.  The  exception  was  in  South  Orange,  where  forty-six  horses  in  the  South 
Orange  and  Newark  horse-car  stables  suffering  with  glanders  were  killed  by  order  of 
the  health  ofHcers  of  the  State. 

Gloucester. — No  disease  prcA^ails  among  any  class  of  domestic  animals  in  this  county. 
Chicken  cholera  prevails  to  a  more  or  less  extent  throughout  the  county. 

Middlesex. — I  have  no  losses  from  disease  to  report  among  the  farm  animals  of  this 
county.     There  has  been  a  heavy  loss  among  fowls. 

Mwris. — I  have  heard  of  the  prevalence  of  no  disease  among  farm  stock  for  the  past 
year. 

Ocean. — I  am  glad  to  state  that  the  live  stock  of  our  county  is  remarkably  (I  might 
almost  say  absolutely)  free  from  all  contagious  diseases. 

Salem. — The  losses  of  farm  animals  by  diseases  during  the  past  year  were  very  few 
in  this  county. 

Warren. — I  do  not  think  any  disease  of  a  contagious  character  has  prevailed  among 
any  class  of  our  farm  animals  during  the  year. 

NEW  YORK. 

Allegany. — No  serious  epidemic  has  occurred  among  any  class  of  domestic  animals 
in  this  county  during  the  year.  The  value  of  tbe  losses,  from  all  causes,  may  be  stated 
thus:  Hoi ses,  $3,500;  cattle,  $1,600 ;  hogs,  $150  ;  sheep,  $250  ;  and  fowls,  $1,262.50. 

Broome.— 1  have  not  been  able  to  hear  of  the  prevalence  of  any  contagious  or  fatal 
malady  among  any  class  of  our  farm  animals. 

Cayuga. — The  usual  diseases  have  prevailed  among  farm  stock  in  this  county  the 
past  year,  though  they  have  been  of  rather  a  mild  form.  Pink-eye  and  influenza  have 
been  the  principal  diseases.  There  were  72  cases  of  pink-eye,  of  which  13  proved 
fatal.  Out  of  32  cases  of  influenza  there  were  7  deaths.  Cattle  and  swine  are  healthy. 
There  were  73  cases  of  scab  among  sheep,  but  no  deaths.  Of  foot-rot  there  were  160 
cases  and  32  deaths.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  cholera  among  fowls.  About  all 
that  have  been  attacked  have  died.  The  same  might  be  said  of  roupe.  These  diseases 
trouble  us  a  good  deal. 

Chautauqua. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  disease  among  farm  stock  in  this  part  of 
the  State  during  the  past  three  years.  The  following  estimates  of  losses  for  this  county 
are  for  diseases  of  all  kinds  liable  to  affect  farm  stock.  The  largest  share  of  such  casu- 
alties may  no  doubt  be  charged  to  improper  feed  and  care  or  to  neglect.  The  esti- 
mates are  :  Horses,  $1,275 ;  cattle,  $1,100;  hogs,  $325;  sheep,  $1.50. 

Colwmbia. — While  no  epidemic  seems  to  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm 
stock  in  this  county  during  the  year,  the  aggregate  loss  foots  up  quite  a  large  sum. 
The  losses  in  detail  are  given  as  follows :  Horses,  $12,500  ;  cattle,  $8,000;  hogs,  $3,750  ; 
sheep,  $2,500;  and  fowls,  $1,125. 

Cortland. — No  losses  from  disease  are  reported  as  having  occurred  among  the  farm 
animals  of  this  county. 

Dutchess. — I  am  pleased  to  say  that  no  contagious  or  infectious  diseases  have  pre- 
vailed among  our  farm  animals  the  past  year. 

Essex. — There  has  been  some  little  trouble  with  pink-eye  among  horses.  Generally, 
however,  farm  animals  have  been  very  healthy. 

Franlclin. — None  but  the  common  ordinary  diseases  incident  to  farm  stock  have  pre- 
vailed the  past  year.     This  is  a  good  climate  for  both  man  and  beast. 

Fulton. — Horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  have  remained  healthy  during  the  year. 
Some  disease  has  prevailed  among  fowls. 

Genesee. — We  have  very  little  disease  among  our  farm  animals,  and  what  we  have 
are  isolated  cases.  Farmers  know  that  good  feeding  and  proper  treatment  are  better 
than  doctors'  nostrums. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICTTED    ANIMALS.        335 

Greene. — The  value  of  the  losses  among  farm  animals  iu  this  county  for  the  year  are 
given  as  follows  :  Horses,  $3,125;  cattle,  $1,260  ;  hogs,  $700;  sheep,  $665  ;  and  fowls, 
$1,000. 

Hamillon. — There  have  been  no  epidemics  during  the  past  year  among  our  domestic 
animals  or  fowls.  Last  winter  was  a  very  severe  one  on  work  horses,  and  several 
died,  probably  more  from  overwork  and  exposure  than  from  disease. 

Herkimer  . — We  have  had  no  epidemic  disease  among  our  domestic  animals  during 
the  past  year,  except  abortion  among  dairy  cows,  and  this  to  a  less  extent  than  in 
former  years. 

Lewis. — I  have  no  losses  to  report  among  farm  animals  in  this  county.  No  epidemic 
has  prevailed  among  any  class. 

Livingston. — The  value  of  farm  animals  lost  iu  this  county  the  past  year  from  disease 
and  other  causes  may  be  estimated  as  follows  :  Horses,  $3,750  ;  cattle,  $1,250 ;  hogs, 
$400;  sheeii,  $105,  and  fowls,  $70. 

Madison. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  aud  fowls  have  remained  free  from  disease 
during  the  year. 

Monroe. — This  is  not  a  stock-growing  county,  but  among  the  limited  number  of 
animals  kejit  there  has  been  no  prevailing  disease,  and  only  the  usual  deaths  from 
common  maladies,  accidents,  «&c. 

Montgomery. — No  epidemic  is  reported  as  having  prevailed  among  farm  animals  in 
this  county,  yet  a  heavy  mortality  is  reported  among  some  classes.  The  value  of  the 
losses  is  given  as  follows  :  Horses,  $3,000  ;  cattle,  $30,000  ;  hogs,  $1,200 ;  sheep,  $240, 
aud  fowls,  $562. 

Niagara. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  among  any  kind  of  farm  animals  in  this 
county  during  the  past  year,  so  the  comparative  loss  has  been  very  small,  and  the 
result  principally  of  some  acute  disease  or  accident. 

Oneida. — There  has  been  no  disease  of  a  marked  nature  among  any  class  of  our  farm 
stock.  This  is  pre-eminently  a  dairy  county,  and  the  number  of  cattle  varies  but 
little  from  year  to  year. 

Onondaga. — I  have  no  losses  of  consequence  to  report  among  the  farm  animals  of 
this  county  for  the  year. 

Ontario. — No  epidemic  occurred  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  during  the  year 
1882.  Fowls  were  affected  in  1882  to  about  the  same  extent  as  during  the  present 
year  and  with  the  same  disease,  called  chicken  cholera. 

Oswego.— A.  great  many  horses  were  affected  with  pink-eye  in  1882  ;  perhaps  1,500 
were  attacked,  causing  a  loss  of  150  head.  No  disease  of  a  contagious  character  has 
prevailed  among  any  class  of  animals  this  year. 

Otsego. — From  all  the  information  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  I  am  led  to  believe 
there  have  been  do  appreciable  losses  from  epidemic  diseases  among  any  branch  of 
farm  animals  during  the  year. 

Schoharie. — There  has  been  no  unusual  disease  of  any  kind  among  our  farm  stock 
this  year. 

Seneca. — There  has  been  no  prevailing  disease  among  either  cattle,  hogs,  or  sheep. 
A  few  horses  have  died  of  distemper.  Hen  cholera  lias  prevailed,  causing  a  loss,  per- 
haps, of  $4,000  in  the  county. 

Suffolk. — The  most  fatal  diseases  among  horses  in  this  county  are  lock-jaw  and  spi- 
nal meningitis.     Scab  has  proved  very  fatal  to  sheep. 

Tioga. — There  has  been  no  disease  of  an  epidemic  or  fatal  character  among  our  farm 
stock  this  year. 

Warren. — The  losses  among  the  various  classes  of  domestic  animals  and  fowls  in 
this  county  for  the  past  j'ear  have  been  so  small,  that  I  am  satisfied  no  disease  of  an 
epidemic  character  has  occurred. 

Washington. — There  has  been  some  pink-eye  among  horses  and  pneumonia  among 
cattle.     Hogs  have  suffered  with  staggers,  sheep  with  colds,  aud  fowls  with  the  usual 


336         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

diseases.     The  value  of  the  losses  for  the  year  are  about  as  follows:  Horses,  $4,500; 
cattle,  $5,000;  hogs,  $3,300;  sheep,  $2,400;  fowls,  $4,000. 

Wayne. — No  destructive  disease  seems  to  have  prevailed  among  auy  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  the  past  year. 

Wyoming. — No  fatal  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  of  our  farm  animals  this  year* 
Yates. — Pink-eye  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  our  horses,  but  in  rather  a 
mild  form.     Chicken  cholera  prevails  in  this  locality,  and  seems  to  be  very  conta- 
gious.    Turkeys  are  occasionally  attacked  and  die.     It  is  plainly  a  disease  of  the 
bowels.     Some  seasons  the  value  of  the  losses  in  this  county  will  reach  $1,000. 

NORTH   CAROLINA. 

Alexander, — There  has  been  no  prevalent  disease  among  farm  stock  in  this  county 
the  past  year,  and  no  data  upon  which  to  base  an  opinion  as  to  the  number  of  aui^pals 
that  have  been  attacked  and  died  within  the  year. 

Alamance. — I  have  no  diseases  to  report  as  prevailing  among  our  farm  animals  at 
present.  There  has  been  no  hog  cholera  this  season.  About  75  lier  cent,  of  the  ani- 
mals die  when  it  prevails. 

Ashe. — None  other  than  the  common  well-known  diseases  have  prevailed  during  the 
year  among  the  live-stock  of  this  county. 

Carteret. — The  losses  from  diseases  among  domestic  animals  have  been  comparatively 
small  in  this  county  the  current  year. 

Caswell. — A  few  hogs  and  fowls  have  died  during  the  year  of  diseases  incident  to 
them. 

Clay. — Cholera  has  prevailed  among  the  hogs  and  fowls  of  this  county  to  a  limited 
extent  during  the  year.     Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  have  remained  healthy. 

Columbus. — Farm  animals  are  generally  healthy,  at  least  no  contagious  disease 
prevails  among  any  class,  except  among  hogs.  They  are  afflicted  with  cholera,  as 
are  also  our  fowls.     We  have  found  no  remedy  for  this  disease. 

Cuviberland. — With  the  exception  of  hogs,  all  our  domestic  animals  seem  to  have 
been  very  healthy  the  past  year.  Some  years  the  loss  is  very  heavy  among  these 
animals. 

Dane. — A  number  of  horses  along  the  beach  have  died  of  blind-staggers.  Cattle, 
hogs,  and  sheep  have  been  very  healthy.  A  great  many  sheep  have  been  killed  by 
dogs. 

Davidson. — Several  of  our  farmers  havelost  their  hogs— almost  their  entire  stock — 
by  a  disease  which  carried  them  off  very  rapidly.  They  broke  out  in  boils  which  had 
a  very  offensive  odor.  The  animals  only  lived  about  36  hours  after  the  attack  was 
noticed.  So  offensive  were  the  tumors  that  the  buzzards  were  attracted  while  the 
animals  were  yet  living.     The  boils  could  be  penetrated  to  a  depth  of  an  inch  or  more. 

Forsyth. — There  have  been  no  fatal  diseases  among  our  farm  animals  during  the 
year.     A  great  many  fowls  have  died  of  cholera. 

Franklin. — The  only  loss  of  any  importance  among  any  class  of  our  farm  animals 
during  the  year  has  been  among  hogs  by  the  usual  diseases  incident  to  these  animals. 

Gaston. — A  few  horses  and  cattle  have  died  of  disease  during  the  past  year,  but  not 
many.  Hogs  are  the  most  unhealthy  of  all  classes  of  farm  stock.  They  die  mostly  of 
cholera.     A  great  many  fowls  are  also  lost  by  cholera. 

Gates. — I  am  unable  to  furnish  the  information  desired  in  your  circular. 

Greene. — Since  the  enactment  of  the  stock  law  diseases  among  farm  animals  are  not 
so  prevalent.  We  have  had  a  few  cases  of  cholera  among  hogs,  but  the  disease  has 
not  been  widespread  as  in  former  years. 

Halifax. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  have  been  free  from  disease,  and  the  losses 
during  the  year  amount  to  but  little.  Occasionally  cholera  appears  among  our 
fowls. 

Harnett. — Cholera  has  been  quite  fatal  among  our  hogs.  At  least  one-half  of  those 
attacked  have  died. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISPOSES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        337 

Henderson. — I  find  it  imjiossible  to  procure  the  statistics  relating  to  losses  amonj^ 
farni  animals. 

Iredell. — Our  farm  animals  have  been  unusually  exempt  from  disease,  especially  of 
a  fatal  character.  The  losses  will  not  exceed,  in  value,  over  $3,000  or  §4,000  for  the 
entii'e  county. 

Jones. — There  isnofc  much  attention  paid  to  stock  in  this  county.  The  animals  are 
allowed  to  roam  at  large  and  take  care  of  themselves.  But  few  losses  have  occurred 
from  diseases. 

Montgomeri/. — We  have  no  reliable  basis  from  which  to  report,  and  do  not  propose 
to  guess.  The  returns  of  assistants  are  not  reliable,  and  I  do  not  propose  to  make  a 
statement  unless  based  on  some  facts  measurablj'  reliable. 

Onslow. — Cholera  has  prevailed  among  hogs  and  fowls  in  this  county.  No  other 
disease  of  a  contagions  character  has  appeared  among  stock.  The  value  of  the  losses 
among  the  various  classes  for  the  year  may  be  stated  thus  :  Horses,  $10,250  ;  cattle, 
$2,475;  hogs,  $1,800;  sheep,  $312.50. 

'  Pamlico. — About  40  horses  have  died  in  this.county  this  year  of  blind-staggers.  The 
losses  have  not  been  heavy,  but  more  or  less  disease  has  prevailed  among  the  other 
classes. 

Pasquotank. — No  special  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  farm  animals 
this  year,  except  cholera,  which  has  caused  the  death  of  a  limited  number  of  hogs. 

Pender. — Blind-staggers  has  been  quite  fatal  to  a  number  of  horses  in  this  county, 
and  cholera  has  prevailed  quite  extensively  among  hogs  and  fowls.  The  value  of  the 
horses  lost  may  be  stated  at  about  $3,000,  and  hogs  a  like  amount. 

Polk. — Farm  stock  has  generally  been  healthy.  There  have  been  some  cases  of 
cholera  among  hogs,  but  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  15  i)er  cent,  would  fully  cover  the 
loss  for  the  year.    Among  horses  and  cattle  the  losses  will  not  exceed  5  per  cent. 

Bandolph. — Losses  among  horses  and  mules,  $3,175;  cattle,  $500;  hogs,  $1,446; 
sheep,  $520  ;  fowls,  $219. 

Bobeson. — Horses  have  been  exceptionally  healthy  this  year.  Cattle  have  been 
afflicted  with  murrain.  Warm  winters  seem  to  be  more  unhealthy  for  cattle  than 
cold  weather.  Hogs  are  afflicted  with  cholera,  and  about  all  that  are  attacked  with 
the  disease  die.  We  havenoremedy  for  chicken  cholera,  although  the  disease  is  wide- 
spread and  fatal. 

Uutherford. — Horses  have  sutlered  with  distemper,  glanders,  and  blind-staggers,  and 
cattle  with  distemi)er  and  murrain.  A  large  number  of  hogs  have  died  of  cholera, 
and  a  few  sheep  have  been  lost  by  scab.     Fowl  cholera  prevails. 

Surry. — No  fatal  diseases  have  visited  the  farm  animals  of  this  county  during  the 
current  year. 

Transylvania. — The  losses  from  disease  among  all  classes  of  farm  aninuils  in  this 
county  for  the  past  year  will  aggregate  about  $5,000. 

Union. — The  horses  and  cattle  in  this  county  have  been  remarkably  free  from  disease 
the  past  year.  Dogs  have  killed  about  225  sheep.  A  considerable  number  of  fowls 
have  died  from  cholora  and  sore-head. 

Wayne. — No  si>ecial  disease  has  prevailed  among  the  live-stock  of  this  county. 
Cholera  has  been  quite  destructive  to  fowls. 

Wilkes. — The  aggregate  loss  Jtinong  all  classes  of  farm  stock  and  fowls  in  this  county 
for  the  year  may  be  stated  at  about  $8,000. 

IVilson. — Hog  cholera  prevailed  to  a  wide  extent  in  this  county  in  1882.  I  lost  hogs 
myself  valued  at  $500.  I  suppose  the  loss  in  the  county  that  year  reached  $6,000  or 
$7,000.  Our  experience  is  that  it  does  no  good  to  doctor  animals  suttering  with  the 
disease.     Generally  about  75  per  cent,  of  the  fowls  attacked  with  cholera  die. 

Yadkin. — No  destructive  disease  has  prevaileil  auioug  farm  animals  in  this  county. 
All  classes  are  in  a  healthy  condition. 

Yancey. — No  verj'  fatal  or  widespread  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  our  live-stock 
this  year. 

5751  D  A 2U 


338  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 


Allen. — The  losses  from  diseases  among  farm  animals  were  quite  heavy  for  the  past 
year  in  this  county.  The  values  are  given  as  follows:  Horses,  |10,832;  cattle,  $6,'202; 
hogs,  #18,350;  sheep,  $2,425. 

Abhtahula. — No  destructive  diseases  have  visited  the  live-stock  of  this  county  during 
the  J  ear,  and  hence  the  losses  have  only  been  nominal. 

Auglaize. — While  no  special  epidemic  seems  to  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of 
farm  aninuils  in  this  couuty,  the  losses  for  the  year  are  quite  heavy.  They  are  given 
as  follows:  Horses,  $9,746;  cattle,  $4,717;  hogs,  $13,100;   sheep,  $1,085. 

Brown. — I  fitid  it  impossible  to  make  a  correct  statement  in  regard  to  losses  of  farm 
stock  in  this  county,  and  therefore  think  it  best  not  to  make  any. 

Carroll. — No  diseases  have  prevailed  among  either  horses,  cattle,  or  hogs.  Some 
flocks  of  sheep  are  aftected  with  foot-rot,  but  not  many  die  of  the  disease.  Occasion- 
ally they  die  of  grub  in  the  head.  Fowl  cholera  is  often  quite  destructive,  but  the 
disease  does  not  seem  to  prevail  at  this  time. 

Champaign. — Only  sporadic  cases  of  disease  have  occurred  among  our  farm  animals 
during  this  year.  Fowls  die  by  the  dozens  on  many  farms,  but  thei-e  are  no  records 
showing  the  number  lost. 

Crawford. — No  disease  among  horses.  Cattle  and  hogs  are  healthy  and  in  good 
condition.  There  is  some  foot-rot^among  sheep,  and  a  great  deal  of  cholera  among 
fowls. 

Clinton. — The  following  are  the  estimates  of  the  losses  of  farm  animals  in  this  couuty 
for  the  past  year:  Horses,  |16,800;  cattle,  $5,190  ;  hogs,  $14,416  ;  sheep,  $2,428. 

Coshocton. — No  epidemic  disease  has  occurred  among  our  farm  stock  this  year. 

Darke. — Horses  and  cattle  are  healthy.  Cholera  or  splenic  fever  has,  and  still  is 
raging  among  hogs  in  some  sections  of  the  county.  I  have  no  data  as  to  the  value  of 
the  losses,  but  the  aggregate  will  be  large.  There  are  isolated  cases  of  cholera  among 
fo  wis. 

Defiance. — No  disease  of  any  kind  among  stock.  Nothing  but  natural  causes  occa- 
sion losses. 

Delaware. — There  were  killed  by  dogs  in  this  county  during  the  year  335  sheep, 
valued  at  $1,262.  A  number  of  cattle  and  hogs  have  died  of  the  diseases  incident  to 
such  stock.     The  value  of  the  cattle  lost  was  $6,272,  and  of  hogs  $7,234. 

Fairfield. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  have  been  free  from  disease.  No  signs  of  an 
epidemic,  and  no  losses  worth  mentioning. 

Fayette. — No  losses  of  consequence  have  been  occasioned  by  disease  among  the  farm 
animals  in  this  county. 

Franklin. — No  epidemic  has  occurred  among  our  horses  and  cattle.  Hogs  have  suf- 
fered from  cholera,  which  has  lessened  the  production  more  than  one-half.  It  is  very 
fatal ;  90  per  cent,  of  those  attacked  die.  The  value  of  our  losses  among  these  ani- 
mals will  reach  $37,000  or  $38,000. 

Geauga. — No  destructive  disease  has  appeared  among  any  class  of  our  domestic  ani- 
mals this  year. 

Harrison. — The  losses  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  by  disease  during  the  current 
year  have  been  only  nominal. 

Henry. — Distemper  i>revailed  to  some  extent  among  horses  the  past  winter  and  sum- 
mer, but  was  of  rather  a  mild  form.  The  value  of  the  hogs  lost  by  disease  will  amount 
to  $16,000.  Cholera  has  been  quite  fiital  to  some  flocks  of  fovt'ls,  while  others  have 
remained  exempt  from  the  disease. 

Hocking. — I  estimate  the  value  of  losses  anu)ng  tarm  animals  in  this  county  for  the 
year  as  follows:  Horses,  $4,780;  cattle,  $2,736;  hogs,  $1,913;  sheep,  $3,778. 

Holmes. — Milk  fever  has  been  very  fatal  to  dairy  cows  in  this  county.  Animals  of 
this  class  valued  at  $10,000  have  died,  mostly  of  the  above-named  disease.  Hogs,  by 
buncliiug  and  sleeping  together  in  straw  and  manure  beds,  have  become  diseased. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        339 

While  sleeping  together  iu  this  way  they  get  warm  aud  sweat,  and  being  called  out 
to  eat  in  the  cold  air  they  become  chilled  and  thus  contract  disease.  A  large  number 
of  fowls  have  died  of  cholera. 

Huron. — No  epidemic  is  now  iirevailing  among  our  farm  animals,  nor  has  anything 
of  the  kind  prevailed  among  them  daring  the  year.  Cholera  prevails  among  chickens 
and  turkeys. 

Jackson. — Our  farm  animals  have  been  reasonably  healthy  the  past  year,  and  con- 
sequently our  losses  have  been  only  nominal. 

Knox. — No  special  malady  has  visited  any  class  of  live  stock  in  this  county  during 
the  year,  and  the  losses  which  have  occurred  have  been  from  natural  causes. 

Licking. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  among  horses,  yet  some  have  died  of  disease. 
Cattle  generally  are  healthy,  yet  there  have  been  anumber  of  deaths  from  milk  fever. 
Sheep  have  suifered  from  a  disease  known  here  as  "white  skin,"  which  seems  to  be 
attributable  to  the  past  wet  season.  Cholera  aud  thumps  have  caused  the  loss  of  some 
hogs,  yet  neither  disease  can  be  said  to  prevail  at  present.  Cholera  prevails  quite 
extensively  among  fowls,  and  few  that  are  attacked  recover.  The  value  of  the  losses 
are  estimated  as  follows:  Horses,  $11,040  ;  cattle,$4,290 ;  hogs,  |1,556:  sheep,  $19,797  : 
and  fowls,  $10,619. 

Logan. — There  has  been  very  little  disease  among  horses  except  pink-eye,  and  that 
seldom  i)roves  fatal.  Hog  cholera  has  not  been  as  bad  as  it  was  a  year  or  two  ago^ 
yet  the  value  of  the  losses  in  this  county  will  reach  over  $30,000.  Foot-rot  and  paper 
skin  have  destroyed  sheep  valued  at  $9,435.  Chicken  cholera  has  caused  considerable 
damage. 

Lorain. — A  few  cows  have  been  lost  by  milk  fever,  and  quite  a  number  of  sheep  by 
paper  skin  and  grub  in  the  head.  The  value  of  sheep  thus  lost  in  the  county  will 
aggregate  about  $7,00J. 

Lucas. — It  is  difficult  to  determine  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the  number  or  value 
of  farm  animals  lost  in  this  county  by  disease  during  the  year.  The  following  is 
thought  to  be  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  those  that  have  died :  Horses,  $6,981  ; 
cattle,  $3,472;  hogs,  $2,744;  sheep,  $959. 

Mahoning. — There  is  no  epidemic  disease  prevailing  among  farm  stock  in  the  county. 
Some  pink-eye  occurred  during  the  year  among  horses,  but  there  were  no  losses. 

Meigs. — The  heaviest  loss  that  has  occurred  among  any  class  of  farm  stock  has  been 
among  sheep.  The  losses  have  been  principally  among  lambs  just  coming  in,  and 
yearlings.  Some  farmers  have  lost  a  large  per  cent,  of  such  animals.  The  nature  of 
the  disease  is  not  known.     The  total  amount  of  the  loss  will  reach  about  $8,000. 

Miami. — I  cannot  learn  of  the  prevalence  of  any  fiital  diseases  among  live  stock. 
They  all  seem  fat  and  healthy. 

Montgomery. — The  following  is  as  near  an  approximation  of  the  losses  of  farm  ani- 
mals in  this  county  for  the  year  as  it  is  possible  to  obtain,  viz  :  Horses,  $17,780;  cat- 
tle, $2,000;  hogs,  $12,600;  sheep,  $4,000;  and  fowls,  $2.50. 

Morgan. — The  statistics  desired  cannot  be  obtained. 

Morrow. — Neither  our  horses,  cattle,  nor  hogs  have  been  visited  by  any  epideuiic  or 
contagious  disease  for  some  years  past ;  therefore  the  losses  have  not  been  great.  This 
is  a  sheep  county.  The  latter  part  of  last  winter  was  very  hard  on  this  stock,  par- 
ticularly those  that  were  not  sheltered.  There  was  a  heavy  loss  among  lambs.  The 
total  loss  is  estimated  at  $18,350. 

Muskingum. — The  largest  loss  in  this  county  has  been  among  sheep.  Farmers  know 
but  little  about  the  symptoms  and  nature  of  diseases;  hence  it  is  difficult  to  tell  what 
tluiy  die  of.  The  losses  among  the  various  classes  are  estimated  as  follows:  Horses, 
$9,416;  cattle,  $7,806;  hogs,  $1,961;  sheep,  $17,566. 

Oltawa.— The  entire  animal  kingdom  is  free  from  all  diseases  as  far  as  I  can  learn. 

Paulding. — A  few  cases  of  pink-eye  have  occurred  among  horses,  but  luithiug  like 
an  epidemic  has  prevailed.     There  have  been  some  cases  of  murrain  aud  red-water 


340         CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

among  cattle.  Hogs  seem  to  bave  been  liealtliier  than  usual.  Some  fowl  cbolera  pre- 
vails, but  to  wbat  extent  I  am  unable  to  say. 

Preble.  —The  loss  of  bogs  in  tbis  county  bas  been  quite  heavy,  and  Avill  amount  in 
value  to  $3"2,524.  There  does  not  seem  to  bave  been  any  unusual  epidemic  among 
tbis  or  any  other  class  of  farm  stock,  and  the  aggregate  loss  for  the  year  is  about  an 
average.     Fowl  cholera  bas  prevailed  quite  extensively. 

Setieca. — The  loss  among  bogs  in  this  county  is  estimated  at  $10,000.  The  diseases 
atfecting  those  animals  are  cbolera,  thumps,  staggers,  and  rheumatism.  Fowl  cbolera 
visits  us  with  unwelcome  regularity.  The  value  of  the  losses  for  the  year  will  reach 
^5,000. 

Stark. — We  bave  had  no  special  or  very  fatal  diseases  among  our  farm  animals  for 
the  past  year.     The  losses  are  therefore  only  nominal. 

Trumbull. — No  epidemics  bave  prevailed  among  our  farm  animals  during  the  year. 

Tuscaraicas. — All  classes  of  domestic  animals  are  free  from  contagious  and  infec- 
tious diseases. 

Union. — A  great  many  animals  of  all  classes  bave  died  during  the  past  year  of  dis- 
eases incident  to  them.  Among  the  horses  lost  were  several  very  valuable  imported 
ones.  The  losses  among  the  various  classes  are  given  thus  :  Horses,  $12,760 ;  cattle, 
$4,100  ;  bogs,  $25,709  ;  sheep,  |9,994. 

Vinton. — There  seems  to  be  no  complaint  as  regards  the  health  of  domestic  animals 
in  this  county.     Isolated  cases  of  fowl  cholera  are  reported. 

Warren. — I  bear  of  the  prevalence  of  no  epidemic  except  that  known  as  cholera 
among  hogs  and  fowls.  The  value  of  the  hogs  lost  in  the  county  will  reach  |18,000 
and  upwards,  and  of  chickens  about  $250. 

Wayne. — The  present  year  has  been  remarkable  for  the  good  health  of  all  classes  of 
farm  stock. 

Wood. — I  hear  of  no  epidemic  disease  except  cholera  among  fowls.  Our  losses  bave 
been  quite  heavy  from  this  disease ;  will  amouut  in  value  to  $1,500. 

Wyandot. — The  total  value  of  the  loss  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  year 
will  reach  $7,000,  divided  among  the  various  classes  and  fowls  as  follows:  Horses, 
|i2,000;  cattle,  $.500;  hogs,  $2,.500  ;  sheep,  $1,000;  and  fowls,  $1,000. 


Baker. — Pink-eye  bas  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  horses,  but  it  bas  not  proved 
fatal  in  any  case  that  I  have  heard  of.    A  few  cases  of  black-leg  in  calves  bave  occurred. 

Benton. — But  few  animals  bave  died  from  the  effects  of  disease  in  tbis  county  the 
current  year,  and  those  that  have  been  lost  have  died  of  the  usual  well-known  dis- 
eases. 

Clackamas. — The  only  disease  worthy  of  note  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  bas 
been  among  horses.  They  are  afflicted  with  enlargement  of  the  kidneys,  which  seems 
to  cause  the  bots  to  leave  the  stomach  and  go  to  the  throat.  Some  cases  bave  proved 
fatal.     There  have  also  been  some  cases  of  blind-staggers  among  horses. 

Clatrop. — Five  per  cent,  of  the  sheep  of  this  county  are  usually  lost  by  disease. 
About  one-third  of  tbis  number  die  from  the  effects  of  the  water-leech. 

Columbia. — No  epidemic  disease  bas  prevailed  among  any  class  of  live  stock  in  tbis 
county  during  the  past  six  years.  Our  bogs  are  mostly  of  the  old  long-nosed  breed, 
aind  hunt  their  living  until  they  are  wanted  for  fattening  purposes. 

Curry. — Some  flocks  of  sheep  are  affected  with  scab,  but  the  disease  rarely  proves 
fatal.     All  other  classes  of  farm  animals  are  in  a  remarkably  healthy  condition. 

Josephine. — There  are  but  a  small  number  of  domestic  animals  in  tbis  county,  and 
the  few  we  have  are  in  a  healthy  condition. 

Lane. — Since  1881  the  horses  in  this  county  have  suffered  seriously,  and  often  fa- 
tally, from  an  epidemic  not  understood  by  our  people.  The  disease,  I  presume,  is 
j;landers.  Tlie  symptoms  are  a  swelling  under  the  jaw  and  a  free  discharge  at  the 
jiostrils  of  a  grayish  sticky  matter.     Sometimes  one  nostril  or  the  other  discbarges 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        341 

blood,  au(l  small  blood-blisters  appear  upon  the  bind  Ioks  of  some,  wbicb  break,  dis- 
cbarge, and  beal.  Tbe  bair  sticks  out  from  tbe  bodies  of  tbe  animals,  tbeir  appe- 
tites fail,  and  soon  tbey  run  down  and  die.  Tbe  disease  is  contagious  in  a  bigb  de- 
gree. Many  line  animals,  worth  tbousauds  of  dollars,  bave  died  of  tbe  malady.  Tbe 
loss,  I  tbink,  will  aggregate  $10,000  annually.  Sheep  are  occasionally  affected  with 
scab  ;  and  roupe,  which  is  contagious,  frequently  sweeps  olf  large  numbers  of  fowls. 

Lhm. — In  some  sections  of  our  county  horses  are  occasionally  affected  with  lung 
fever  and  staggers.  A  few  die  of  nasal  gleet,  or  some  disease  resembling  catarrh. 
Sheep  are  subject  to  leech  and  scab,  and  chickens  to  cholera. 

Multnomah. — No  contagious  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  domestic 
animals. 

Polk. — Tbe  only  loss  we  have  sustained  among  our  farm  animals  has  been  among 
horses  and  sheep.     No  contagious  disease  seems  to  bave  affected  any  class. 

Washington. — We  have  here  every  winter  a  disease  among  horses,  called  staggers  by 
some,  and  by  others  spinal  meningitis.  I  hear  of  some  suffering  thus  early  in  tbe 
winter  season.  I  estimate  the  average  annual  loss  by  that  disease  alone  at  8  per 
cent.  There  has  been  no  fatal  disease  among  other  classes  of  stock.  Cholera  among 
fowls  has  prevailed  to  a  limited  extent. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Allegheny. — There  has  been  no  disease  of  any  kind  among  our  farm  animals.  Cholera, 
among  fowls  has  been  quite  jirevalent. 

Bedford. — A  number  of  horses  have  suffered  with  pink-eye,  distemjier,  and  lung 
fever.  Hog  cholera  has  prevailed,  and  fowls  have  also  suffered  with  cholera  and 
gapes.  The  losses  are  estimated  as  follows:  Horses,  .$35,000;  cattle,  $1,600 ;  hogs, 
$10,000  ;  sheep,  .$6,000  ;  fowls,  P,.500. 

Bradford. — No  contagious  disease  bas  prevailed  among  live  stock  in  this  county  the 
past  year. 

Butln: — I  cannot  hear  of  the  prevalence  among  either  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  or  sheep 
of  any  disease  w'hatever.  The  deaths  have  been  tbe  result  of  accident,  natural  de- 
fects, or  for  lack  of  proper  care. 

Cambria. — No  disease  of  a  fatal  character  bas  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  do- 
mestic animals. 

Cameron. — But  few  losses  have  been  occasioned  by  disease  among  tbe  farm  animals 
of  this  county  during  the  past  year. 

Clinton. — I  find  it  impossible  to  furnish  the  information  you  desire  as  to  losses  from 
disease  among  faim  animals.    . 

Crawford. — No  contagious  or  epidemic  disease  bas  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our 
farm  stock  tbe  past  year.  Animals  occasionally  die,  but  generally  of  some  common 
disease,  old  age,  &c. 

Elk. — The  losses  among  domestic  animals  in  this  county  are  occasioned  by  bad  treat- 
ment, old  age,  or  accident. 

Erie. — We  have  had  no  prevailing  disease  within  the  past  year  among  any  class 
of  our  farm  animals,  but  we  have  had  the  average  annual  losses  from  old  age,  acci- 
dent, want  of  proper  attention,  &c. 

Greene. — There  never  has  been  an  epidemic  among  the  farm  animals  of  this  county 
that  amounted  to  anything.  Chicken  cholera  has  caused  greater  losses  than  any 
disease  among  live  stock. 

Lawrence. — There  has  been  some  chicken  cholera  among  fowls,  but  tbe  disease  bas 
not  been  so  general  as  heretofore.  No  epidemic  has  visited  our  farm  animals  during 
the  year. 

Lycoming. — No  contagious  or  infectious  disease  has  prevailed  among  our  domestic 
animals  the  past  year.     The  losses  have  been  occasioned  by  natural  causes. 

Montour. — Some  hogs  have  died  in  this  county  during  the  year.     It  is  supposed  that 


342  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  disease  of  which  they  died  was  occasioned  by  feeding  them  with  uiokly  corn. 
About  one-third  of  our  chickens  have  died  of  cholera. 

Xorthampton. — No  epidemic  disease  hiis  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm  animals 
in  this  county.  The  chicken  disease  has  caused  considerable  loss.  It  has  also  at- 
tacked turkeys  with  fatal  results. 

Schuylkill. — No  serious  or  destructive  disease  has  visited  our  live  stock  the  past 
year. 

Somerset. — I  am  of  the  opinion  that  there  has  been  no  epidemic  disease  among  our 
stock  for  two  or  three  years  past,  but  of  course  there  have  been  some  deaths  from 
natural  causes  and  common  ailments. 

Sullivan. — This  is  a  high,  rolling  county,  with  fine  nutritious  grasses,  and  is  very 
healthy  for  all  kinds  of  farm  animals.     The  losses  the  past  year  were  only  nominal- 

Susquehanna. — Scarcely  any  losses  have  occurred  among  our  farm  stock  from  disease 
the  past  year.     There  has  been  quite  a  heavy  loss  among  sheep,  caused  by  dogs. 

Union. — No  contagious  diseases  have  made  their  appearance  among  our  farm  ani- 
mals the  past  year. 

Venango. — There  is  not,  nor  has  there  been  during  the  year,  any  contagious  or  infec- 
tious diseases  amongour  domestic  animals.  The  losses  are  such  as  are  incident  to  alj 
stock. 

Warren. — Of  course  an  animal  occasionally  sickens  and  dies,  but  I  can  hear  of  the 
prevalence  of  no  epidemic  among  our  stock  during  the  current  year.  One  butcher — 
an  isolated  case — lost  some  hogs  by  cholera. 

Washington. — A  few  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  have  died  from  the  eft'ects  of  the 
various  diseases  incident  to  them  during  the  past  year.  I  cannot  give  the  value  of 
such  losses.  The  cholera  or  roupe  has  been  destructive  to  fowls.  The  loss  will  aggre- 
gate several  thousand  dollars  for  the  year. 

Wayne. — No  contagious  or  epidemic  diseases  among  farm  stock  in  this  county.  A 
great  many  calves  and  yearlings  have  died  of  malignant  anthrax  or  black-leg.  From 
UOO  to  300  sheep  are  annually  killed  by  dogs. 

Westmoreland. — Farm  animals  usually  do  well  in  this  county.  I  can  procure  no  re- 
liable data  as  to  annual  losses  by  disease.     The  aggregate  would  amount  to  but  little. 

Wyoming. — I  have  no  diseases  to  report  as  prevailing  among  farm  animals.  I  esti- 
mate the  value  of  the  loss  of  fowls  at  $2,375. 

York. — I  estimate  the  value  of  the  losses  among  the  various  classes  of  farm  animals 
and  fowls  in  this  county  for  the  year  as  follows:  Horses,  $8,500;  cattle,  $2,000  ;  hogs, 
12,000;  sheep,  $65;  and  fowls,  $500. 

KHODE    ISLAND. 

Bristol. — The  prevailing  horse  disease  has  been  pink-eye,  of  which  few  animals, 
however,  die,  and  those  chiefly  from  ignorance.  A  small,  cheap  pamphlet,  in  large 
type,  describing  the  more  frequent  diseases  incident  to  horses  and  cows,  and  indicat- 
ing proper  treatment,  would  save  much  loss  and  untold  suffering  to  the  animals. 

Kent. — The  most  j^revaleut  disease  among  horses  is  pink-eye.  Hogs  have  fevers 
from  exposure,  and  fowls  are  afflicted  with  roupe,  caused  by  their  damp  quarters. 

Newport. — The  loss  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  during  the  past  year  has  not 
been  very  large.  Nothing  like  an  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed.  A  large  traffic  in 
the  production  of  eggs  has  within  the  past  few  years  grown  up  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  county. 

SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

HarnweU. — Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  in  this  county  are  remarkably  free  from  ail 
contagious  diseases.  They  die  from  such  s]>oradic  attacks  as  are  common  everywhere, 
and  in  some  cases  from  poverty  and  bad  treatment.  Hogs  and  fowls  are  suffering 
from  a  disease  called  cholera,  of  which  numbers  are  being  carried  off.  We  have  tio 
remedy.  . 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        343 

Chesterfield. — I  have  not  heard  of  the  prevalence  of  any  fatal  disease  among  the 
farm  animals  of  this  connty  during  the  past  year. 

Clarendon. — Tlie  only  loss  of  any  consequence  that  has  occurred  among  any  class  of 
stock  in  this  county  during  the  year  has  been  among  hogs.  The  value  of  the  animals 
lost  will  aggregate  $10,900.  Fowl  cholera  has  been  widespread  and  destructive,  and 
has  destroyed  fowls  valued  at  .|2,350. 

Hampton. — I  am  unable  to  furnish  the  information  desired  for  this  county, 

Newberri/. — Horses  occasionally  die  of  common  ailments.  Cattle  die  of  "  hollow- 
horn  "  and  exposure.  No  care  is  given  these  animals.  Cholera  is  very  fatal  to  both 
hogs  and  fowls.  No  unusual  epidemic  has  prevailed  among  our  animals  during  the 
year. 

Richland. — Cholera  has  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  among  hogs  in  this  county. 
Other  farm  animals  have  remained  healthy. 

Sumter. — All  classes  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  are  free  from  disease. 

Williamsburg. — No  statistics  accessible,  and  cannot  give  the  information  desired. 

TENNESSEE. 

Anderson. — This  has  been  a  year  quite  free  from  stock  epidemics.  In  the  early 
spring  quite  a  number  of  milch  cows  died  of  a  disease  popularly  known  as  murrain, 
and  a  few  hogs  of  cholera. 

Bedford. — The  only  disease  from  which  our  horses  suffer  is  distemper,  with  occa- 
sionally a  chronic  ailment.  A  disease  has  prevailed  the  past  summer  among  our  cat- 
tle called  murrain  by  some  and  by  others  Alabama  or  Texas  fever.  It  only  aftects 
native  cattle  which  are  grazed  on  pastures  after  Alabama  or  Texas  cattle.  Strange 
to  say,  the  Southern  cattle  are  never  affected,  but  fatten  well,  while  native  cattle  that 
follow  in  the  same  pastures  sometimes  die  by  the  herd.  Hogs  and  fowls  are  affected  by 
cholera. 

Benton. — Some  horses  were  killed  in  this  county  during  the  year  that  were  supposed 
to  be  suffering  with  glanders.  But  little  disease  has  prevailed  among  cattle.  Hogs 
valued  at  about  12,000  have  died  of  disease.  Fowl  cholera  has  been  quite  destruc- 
tive. 

Blount. — There  has  been  no  disease  of  an  alarming  character  among  our  farm  ani- 
mals the  past  year.     Swine  plague  was  very  destructive  in  1882. 

Bradley. — The  only  disease  of  consequence  that  has  visited  any  class  of  stock  in 
this  county  the  present  year  is  what  is  generally  known  as  murrain  among  cattle. 
Cholera  among  fowls  prevails  to  a  wide  extent. 

Claiborne. — No  diseases  prevail  among  our  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  Swine  have 
suffered  with  swine  plague,  and  fowls  with  cholera.  These  diseases  have  not  been  so 
destructive,  however,  as  in  some  former  years. 

Coffee. — For  several  years  past  but  few  diseases  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of 
our  farm  animals  except  hogs. 

Cumberland. — Our  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  fowls  have  been  unusually  healthy  the 
past  year.  In  one  neighborhood  hogs  were  afflicted  with  cholera,  which  resulted  in 
a  loss  of  about  200  head  of  all  ages.     The  disease  is  not  now  prevailing. 

Davidson. — I  find  it  impossible  to  procure  the  information  you  desire. 

Decatur. — There  has  been  but  little  disease  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  the 
I)ast  yeac     Several  cattle  died,  but  of  what  disease  I  am  not  informed. 

De  Kalb. — Tliere  has  been  a  great  deal  of  cholera  among  hogs  in  some  parts  of  this 
county  this  year,  and  very  little  disease  of  any  kind  among  other  classes  of  farm 
stock.  Cholera  has  also  been  very  destructive  to  chickens,  turkeys,  &c.,  in  certain 
localities. 

Dickson. — No  diseases  among  horses  or  cattle  in  this  county.  Some  cholera  among 
hogs  and  fowls,  and  occasionally  rot  among  sheep. 

Fayette. — No  diseases  prevalent  among  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  or  fowls,  but  hog  chol- 
era has  prevailed  to  some  extent  in  different  localities  in  the  county. 


344  CONTAGIOUS    DISEA.SES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

(iibaon. — No  disease  except  ordinary  distemper  among  horses.  Bloody  murrain  and 
Texas  fever  reported  iu  two  or  three  neighborhoods ;  very  fatal.  In  three  or  four 
districts  cholera  is  reported  as  being  very  fatal  to  hogs,  especially  to  fattening  hogs. 
Gapes  quite  often  prove  fatal  to  young  fowls  and  cholera  to  older  ones. 

Giles. — Horses  are  quite  healthy.  The  loss  of  cattle  is  the  result  of  contagious  dis- 
eases produced  by  the  importation  of  cattle  from  the  mountainous  districts  of  Alabama. 
There  should  be  a  law  enacted  by  the  present  Congress  to  prevent  tlie  importation  of 
stock  from  one  State  to  another  iu  such  cases.  The  disease  has  proved  fatal  in  every 
instance  to  native  stock.  Our  county  has  lost  many  hundreds  of  dollars  by  the  im- 
portation of  such  stock.  Our  losses  for  the  year  are  estimated  as  follows:  Horses, 
$12,750;  cattle,  118,750;  hogs,  $20,000;  sheep,  $850,  and  fowls,  $1,200. 

Grainger. — There  has  been  some  hog  and  fowl  cholera  iu  this  county  the  past  year, 
but  as  to  the  extent  and  value  of  the  losses  no  one  knows.  Cattle,  horses,  and  sheep 
seem  to  have  been  free  from  disease. 

Greene. — Cholera  has  prevailed  among  hogs  and  chickens  in  some  localities  in  this 
county.  A  few  horses  have  suflcred  with  blind  staggers.  Hog  raising  is  still  declin- 
ing in  favor  of  cattle  growing. 

Hancock. — One-fourth  of  the  hogs  of  this  county  have  been  affected  with  cholera 
during  the  fall  season,  and  the  disease  is  still  raging  with  great  destruction.  Some 
cattle  have  died  of  murrain  ;  fowls  have  died  of  cholera,  and  chickens  of  gapes.  I 
estimate  the  value  of  cattle  and  hogs  lost  as  follows:  Cattle,  $1,080;  hogs,  $17,500. 

Hardeman. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  during  the  year  among  any  class  of 
our  domestic  animals  except  among  hogs.  Fowls  have  suffered  also  to  some  extent. 
The  disease  prevalent  among  both  hogs  and  fowls  is  known  as  cholera. 

Haywood. — No  disease  of  a  general  character  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  the  past  year.  All  that  have  been  lost  is  the  result  of  old  age 
or  neglect.     Our  county  is  in  a  prosjierous  condition  as  regards  stock  of  all  kinds. 

Henderson. — Cattle  have  been  affected  in  some  localities  with  what  is  here  called 
bloody  murrain.  The  true  nature  of  the  disease  is  little  known.  It  usually  proves 
fatal.  Hog  cholera  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  in  certain  localities,  but  the  disease 
is  not  general  throughout  the  county. 

Hickman. — Hog  cholera  prevailed  in  this  county  to  an  alarming  extent  during  the 
year  1882.  More  than  75  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  died  that  year.  It  has  not  jirevailed 
in  a  destructive  form  since.  A  few  cases  of  pink-eye  occurred  among  cattle  the  past 
spring  and  summer,  but  there  were  no  deaths. 

Humphreys. — I  estimate  the  value  of  hogs  lost  by  cholera  in  this  county  the  past 
year  at  $10,000.  Cholera  has  also  prevailed  among  fowls,  and  has  been  quite  de- 
structive. 

James. — The  most  fatal  epidemic  we  have  to  contend  against  is  that  called  murrain 
among  cattle.  It  is  called  both  bloody  and  dry  muri'aiu,  and  kills  almost  every  ani- 
mal it  attacks.  Unless  some  remedy  is  fouiul  for  this  malady,  it  will  destroy  the  cattle 
interest  in  this  section. 

Johnson. — In  the  early  spring  horses  were  affected  to  some  extent  with  pink-eye. 
Cattle  have  suffered  with  black-leg,  hogs  with  cholera,  sheep  with  pneumonia,  and 
fowls  with  cholera. 

Knox. — Only  a  small  number  of  our  farm  animals  have  been  affected  by  disease,  and 
but  few  of  those  affected  have  died.  No  epidemic  worthy  of  mention  has  occurred. 
There  have  been  a  few  cases  of  cholera  among  hogs  and  fowls,  but  the  losses  have 
not  been  so  great  as  in  former  years.  A  few  deaths  have  occurred  among  cattle, 
caused  by  the  introduction  of  animals  from  more  southern  States.  For  instance,  one 
farmer  bought  a  car-load  of  cattle  iu  Alabanui,  some  hundred  miles  south  of  this  locality, 
and  brought  them  to  his  farm  to  pasture  through  the  suumier.  These  cattle  did  very 
well,  but  almost  all  the  native  cattle  on  the  farm  died.  The  cause  and  nature  of  this 
disease  is  not  understood  here. 

Luke. — The  value  of  the  farm  animals  and  fowls  lost  in  this  county  the  past  year 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        345 

by  tlie  various  diseases  incirtent  to  them  is  estimated  as  follows :  Horses,  |6,000 ;  cattle, 
Bl,<)2n ;  bogs,  $42,750;  sbeep,  $64:  fowls,  $279. 

Lmcrence. — A  few  horses  have  died  during  the  year  of  blind  staggers.  Dry  murrain 
has  be«n  very  fatal  to  cattle  in  some  localities.  Hog  cholera  has  prevailed,  aud  has 
been  very  fatal  along  the  large  water-courses.  Animals  on  the  uplands  have  remained 
healthy. 

Loudon. — No  disease  of  fatal  character  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  domes- 
tic animals  the  past  year.  Occasionally  an  animal  dies,  but  not  of  a  contagious  dis- 
ease. 

Madison. — The  losses  among  some  classes  of  farm  animals  have  been  quite  heavy  in 
this  county  during  the  past  year.  I  estimate  the  value  of  the  losses  among  all  classes 
as  follows  :  Horses,  $7,500  ;  cattle,  $10,000 ;  hogs,  $20,000  ;  sheep,  $900  ;  and  fowls,  $.3()0. 

Meigs. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  have  been  in  good  health  the  past  year.  There 
has  been  some  cholera  among  chickens,  but  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  value 
of  the  losses. 

Morgan. — Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  have  remained  free  from  disease  during  the  year. 
Cholera  has  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  among  hogs  and  fowls.  Value  of  hogs 
lost,  $6,000  ;  fowls,  $800. 

Montgomery. — I  find  it  utterly  impossible  to  furnish  the  information  you  desire. 

Moore. — An  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  animals  lost  in  this  county  during  the  year 
is  given  as  follows:  Horses,  $6,000;  cattle,  $4,000;  hogs,  $2,500;  sheep,  $400 ;  and. 
fowls,  $820. 

Perry. — No  disease  of  an  epidemic  character  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  the  past  year.  Cholera  has  prevailed  among  fowls,  but  I  can- 
not give  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  losses. 

Pickett. — No  epidemic  among  either  horses  or  cattle.  Some  hog  cholera,  but  not  of 
an  epidemic  character.     Not  a  great  amount  of  disease  among  fowls. 

Polk. — Horses  have  been  healthy,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  hogs  and  sheep. 
Our  cattle  have  suifered  with  an  epidemic  of  murrain.  Fowls  have  been  afHicted 
with  cholera. 

Putnam. — No  disease  of  a  very  fatal  nature  seems  to  have  visited  any  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  during  the  current  year.  There  has  been  some  disease  among^ 
sheep  and  also  among  fowls. 

Robertson. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  among  farm  stock  in  our  county  during  the 
past  year.  A  few  hogs  in  some  localities  have  had  cholera  aud  in  others  fowls  have  died 
.of  the  same  disease,  but  nothing  like  an  epidemic  has  prevailed. 

Shelby. — Some  little  cholera  among  hogs  and  fowls  is  now  and  then  reported,  but 
the  losses  have  been  small. 

Sequatchie. — A  considerable  number  of  hogs  have  died  of  cholera  during  the  year.  A 
few  horses  have  suffei'ed  with  what  is  known  here  as  pink-eye,  but  no  deaths  have 
resulted. 

Serier. — The  disease  known  as  hog  cholera  has  prevailed  to  a  limited  extent  during 
the  year,  but  the  losses  have  been  comparatively  small.  Chicken  cholera  is  less 
prevalent  than  usual. 

Washington. — Heavy  losses  have  occurred  among  swine  and  poultry  in  this  county,. 
caused  by  the  ravages  of  cholera.  Farm  animals  generally  have  remained  free  from 
fatal  diseases. 

Wuync. — There  have  beeji  some  cases  of  murrain  among  cattle  and  cholera  among 
hogs.     The  disease  was  fatal  to  cattle,  and  three-fourths  of  the  hogs  attacked  died. 

White. — Hogs  have  suffered  from  cholera  in  some  neighborhoods  Although  the  dis- 
ease has  not  been  general,  I  estimate  the  value  of  the  lo.sses  at  about  $8,000.  Other 
classes  of  farm  animals  have  remained  free  from  contagious  diseases. 

Wilson. — Cholera  has  been  very  fatal  to  hogs,  but  I  liave  no  means  of  ascertaining 
the  value  of  the  losses.     No  special  disease  among  other  classes  of  stock. 

WiUiamson. — All  classes  of  domestic  animals  have  been  renuirkably  free  from  con- 


346  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

tagious  diseases  except  hogs.     There  have  heen  a  few  causes  of  cholera  among  these 
animals.     Cholera  is  now  prevailing  and  proving  quite  fatal  to  fowls. 

Unicoi. — No  diseases  of  a  contagious  or  epidemic  character  have  prevailed  among 
our  farm  stock  the  past  year. 


Aransas. — No  contagions  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  in 
this  county  the  past  year.  Cholera  is  the  prevalent  disease  among  fowls,  and  an- 
nually kills  large  numbers  of  them. 

Austin. — No  disease  among  any  class  of  farm  stock,  except  the  usual  sickness  among 
hogs.     The  losses  have  not  been  very  heavy. 

Bandera. — The  only  loss  I  have  to  report  among  our  farm  animals  was  among  cat- 
tle, caused  by  the  disease  known  as  black-leg. 

Bastrop. — I  cannot  give  the  statistics  desired,  but  I  am  prepared  to  say  that  there 
has  been  no  fatal  diseases  prevalent  among  our  farm  animals  the  past  year. 

Bee. — Horses,  cattle,  and  hogs  have  been  remarkably  healthy  the  past  year.  Sheep 
have  died  of  lombriz  and  scab,  but  owing  to  the  dry  weather  they  have  been  health- 
ier than  in  former  years. 

Bexar. — No  destructive  disease  has  visited  our  horses,  cattle,  or  hogs  the  past  year. 
Scab  prevails  to  some  extent  among  sheep  and  cholera  among  fowls. 

Bowie. — I  have  no  diseases  of  a  contagious  character  to  report  as  prevailing  among 
the  farm  animals  of  this  county. 

Brazos. — Sheep  are  the  only  class  of  animals  that  have  been  seriously  affected  by 
disease  in  this  county.  They  have  suffered  with  scab  and  foot-rot.  Cholera  among 
fowls  prevails  in  some  neighborhoods  almost  continuously. 

Brown. — Horses,  cattle,  and  hogs  have  escaped  all  epidemic  diseases  the  past  year. 
Sheep  had  a  hard  time  of  it  last  winter — no  shelter  and  bad  feed.  About  one-half  or 
two-thirds  of  the  number  in  the  county  died. 

Caldwell. — Horses  and  cattle  are  healthy.  Hogs  are  suffering  with  cholera,  which  is 
now  prevalent  in  this  county.  Sheep  are  affected  with  scab.  Cholera  is  prevalent 
and  quite  destructive  to  fowls.  This  disease  annually  destroys  about  half  the  hogs 
and  fowls  in  the  county. 

Callahan. — A  few  horses  have  been  attacked  by  blind-staggers  during  the  past  year, 
and  about  all  attacked  with  the  disease  died.  Cattle  are  plentiful  here,  I  know  of 
one  man  who  owns  4,000  head,  another  3,400,  and  several  others  who  own  from  800 
to  1,200  each.  They  have  been  free  from  disease  the  past  year.  I  have  heard  of  some 
few  deaths  among  young  cattle  just  brought  in.  I  think  fine  stock  should  be  brought 
here  in  the  late  fall,  say  from  October  to  December,  in  preference  to  the  spring  months. 
Hogs  do  well,  and  are  healthy.  Sheep  have  largely  increased  within  the  last  year. 
There  are  probably  more  than  100,000  head  in  the  county.  Some  few  cases  of  scab 
prevail,  but  this  usually  only  reduces  the  clip  of  wool  and  rarely  kills  the  animal. 
Under  the  laws  of  Texas  we  now  have  a  sheep  inspector  in  each  county,  who  ex- 
amines diseased  herds  and  prescribes  proper  treatment. 

Cass. — Our  losses  among  horses  and  mules  the  past  year  from  blind-staggers  were 
nuusually  large.  This  disease  is  supposed  to  be  caused  by  eating  smutty  corn.  Cat" 
tie  are  healthy,  bvit  a  great  manj^  die  annually  from  poverty  and  lack  of  proi)er  shelter. 
Hogs  are  afflicted  with  cholera. 

Chambers. — We  have  had  so  few  deaths  among  farm  animals  the  past  year  that  the 
number  is  hardly  worth  recording.  About  10  per  cent,  of  our  fowls  are  annually 
attacked  by  cholera,  and  90  per  cent,  of  those  attacked  die. 

Cherokee. — No  infectious  or  contagious  diseases  have  attacked  the  farm  stock  of 
this  county  the  past  year. 

Clay. — No  epidemic  of  any  kind  has  visited  our  farm  animals  this  year. 

Coleman. — Some  little  disease  has  recently  appeared  among  horses  in  this  county. 
Young  cattle  on  the  range  are  reported  as  suffering  seriously  with  black-leg.    Animals 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        347 

valued  at  from  $10,000  to  $12,000  have  been  lost  by  the  disease.  A  great  many  sheep 
died  from  the  effects  of  cold  and  starvation  last  winter.  Flock-masters  were  unpre- 
pared for  the  unprecedented  cold  weather,  and  \^ere  caught  without  either  shelter  or 
food.     The  loss  is  estimated  at  P0,000. 

Collier. — The  only  epidemic  that  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  domestic  animals 
is  that  known  as  cholera  among  hogs.  A  similar  disease  has  prevailed  among  fowls. 
Dallas. — I  think,  upon  the  whole,  that  our  stock  has  been  pretty  free  from  epidemics 
of  any  kind.  Hogs  have  suftered  somewhat  from  cholera,  and  the  same  can  be  said 
in  regard  to  fowls.  We  have  l)ut  few  sheep,  and  they  are  healthy  and  well  cared  for. 
De  li'iit. — Our  heaviest  losses  have  been  in  sheep  and  cattle.  This  may  partially 
be  accounted  for  in  the  fact  that  neither  class  are  properly  sheltered  and  cared  for 
during  cold  and  inclement  weather.     A  great  many  fowls  have  died  of  cholera. 

Donley. — Horses  in  this  county  are  frequently  poisoned  by  the  loco  weed.  Wc  have 
110  antidote  for  the  poison,  and  it  generally  proves  fatal.  A  great  many  cattle  are 
annually  killed  by  being  crowded  upon  wire  fences. 

Eastland. — A  very  fatal  disease  known  as  black-leg  has  been  quite  prevalent  among 
young  cattle  in  this  county.  We  have  no  ramedy  for  the  malady.  The  animal  when 
attacked  becomes  indifferent,  lame  in  forelegs,  with  slight  swelling,  feverish,  con- 
siderable thirst,  and  finally  drops  down  and  soon  dies.  The  disease  terminates  iu  death 
in  about  forty-eight  hours  after  the  first  symptoms  are  shown.  Calves  and  yearlings 
are  the  classes  usually  attacked.     All  other  classes  of  animals  have  remained  healthy. 

Earth. — Blind-staggers,  a  very  fatal  disease  to  horses,  has  prevailed  to  some  extent 
in  this  county  the  past  year.  A  few  cattle  die  annually  of  black-leg,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  fowls  die  of  cholera. 

Fannin. — The  farm  animals  of  this  county  have  been  exempt  from  all  epidemic  dis- 
eases during  the  past  year. 

Grayson. — Native  cattle  are  very  healthy,  but  imported  animals  almost  invariably 
die.     No  fatal  diseases  among  domestic  animals  this  year. 

Gregg. — A  disease  has  prevailed  among  horses  in  this  county  for  the  past  two  years 
having  all  the  symptoms  of  glanders,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  be  very  contagious.  I 
have  seen  some  five  cases.  None  have  recovered.  Sheep  and  cattle  are  free  from 
disease.     Hogs  and  fowls  occasionally  suffer  from  cholera. 

Guadalupe. — No  diseases  of  a  contagious  nature  have  visited  our  farm  stock  the 
past  year. 

Hardeman. — Both  horses  and  cattle  are  often  killed  by  eating  the  loco  weed.  It  is 
more  injurious  to  horses  than  cattle,  and  if  the  former  should  recover  they  are  never 
of  any  use  as  work  animals.  Sheep  are  suffering  to  some  extent  with  scab,  and 
chickens  are  dying  iu  considerable  numbers  of  cholera. 

Hardin. — All  classes  of  farm  animals  are  yery  healthy.  At  least  25  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  number  of  fowls  in  the  county  have  sufiered  with  cholera,  and  fully  90  j)er 
cent,  of  those  attacked  have  died. 

Henderson. — I  have  heard  of  the  prevalence  of  no  disease  among  horses  and  cattle 
thia  year.  Hogs  and  chickens  both  seem  to  be  suffering  with  cholera  or  some  other 
fatal  disease. 

Johnson. — Farm  animals  of  all  kinds  do  well  iu  this  county  and  are  moderately 
healthy.     I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  the  losses. 

Jones. — Tliere  have  been  a  few  cases  of  pink-eye  among  horses.  Five  or  six  per 
cent,  of  the  total  number  of  sheep  of  this  county  died  last  winter  of  scab  and  poverty. 

Karnes. — No  epidemic  has  appeared  among  horses.  Short  and  dry  pastures  in  the 
early  spring  caused  the  loss  of  a  great  many  cattle.  These  animals  are  now  fat  ami 
healthy. 

Kaufman. — The  losses  among  our  farm  animals  from  disease  during  the  past  year 
have  been  comparatively  small. 

Kinney. — Sheep  are  affected  with  scab,  but  the  disease  now  seems  to  be  under  con- 
trol.    The  greatest  loss  has  been  felt  in  a  reduction  of  wool. 


348  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Lampasis. — Sheep  in  this  county  have  suffered  severely  with  scab.  Fully  fifty  per 
ceut.  of  these  animals  have  died  from  the  ravages  of  this  disease  and  of  starvation. 
Horses  and  cattle  seem  to  have  suffered  from  scab  also,  which  was  communicated  to 
tliom  by  grazing  on  the  same  pastures  with  the  diseased  sheep. 

McMullcn. — No  o])ideniic  has  jirevuiled  here,  either  among  animals  or  fowls.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  of  188-i-'83  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  sheep  died  from  exposure  to  in- 
clement weather,  which  was  unusually  severe  for  this  latitude.  Horses  and  cattle 
are  now  health}'  and  in  good  condition  for  the  coming  winter. 

MacUfion. — Some  cattle  have  died  of  the  disease  known  as  murrain.  More  hogs  have 
died  from  eating  cotton  seeds  than  from  actual  disease.  The  greatest  loss  both  to 
she«^p  and  cattle  has  been  the  Lick  of  proper  shelter. 

Marion. — No  wide-spread  or  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  ciass  of  do- 
mestic animals  in  this  county  the  past  year. 

Matagorda. — No  contagious  disease  has  appeared  among  our  farm  animals  this  year. 
Flies  and  the  screw-worm  have  caused  the  death  of  a  great  many  sheep. 

Menard. — Horses  have  been  affected  with  a  disease  known  here  as  loin  distemper. 
Scab  is  prevalent  among  sheep,  and  has  caused  some  losses.  Cattle  and  hogs  are 
healthy. 

Morris. — The  only  fatal  disease  to  which  our  horses  are  subject  is  blind  or  sleepy 
staggers.  But  few  animals  recover  from  this  disease.  A  few  cases  of  cholera  have 
been  reported  among  hogs.     A  similar  disease  is  often  very  destructive  to  fowls. 

Parker. — Stock  of  all  kinds  was  never  in  better  condition  than  at  present.  The  loss 
on  all  range  stock  last  winter  was  estimated  at  2  per  ceut. 

Folk. — No  losses  of  any  consequence  among  any  class  of  domestic  animals  in  this 
county. 

Eunnels. — There  is  no  prevailing  disease  among  our  farm  animals,  and  the  losses  are 
principally  caused  by  starvation.  The  losses  for  all  classes  will  not  exceed  10  jier 
cent. 

Busk. — Hog  cholera  is  now  prevailing  on  many  farms,  and  some  farmers  have  lost 
a  large  per  ceut.  of  their  fattening  hogs.  They  die  very  suddenly,  only  refusing  to 
eat  a  day  or  so  before  death  occurs.  No  remedies  seem  to  have  any  effect.  A  change 
of  range  has  been  found  beneficial.  Other  farm  animals  have  continued  healthy 
One  of  my  neighbors,  having  good  Bermuda  grass  pastures,  imported  from  Ohio  in 
the  month  of  October  thirty  head  of  high  grade  Jersej'  cattle.  The  first  half  of  Oc- 
tober was  hotter  weather  than  we  had  in  August.  The  thermometer  ranged  from 
Jiinety  to  ninety-five  degrees  daily  on  the  north  side  of  the  house.  In  about  a  week 
after  the  arrival  of  the  cattle  some  of  them  began  to  droop  and  refuse  to  eat.  They 
were  costive,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  an  operation  from  the  bowels  with  salts  and 
other  drenches.  One  very  sick  one  was  drenched  with  a  quart  of  melted  hog's  lard, 
which  operated,  and  the  cow  recovered  and  is  now  doing  (luite  well.  Of  the  thirty 
head,  eleven  died  within  about  a  period  of  twelve  days.  The  remainder  are  now  do- 
ing well.  We  attribute  the  cause  of  the  sickness  to  the  extreme  hot  weather  and  the 
sudden  change  of  climate.     Cholera  is  prevailing  among  fowls  on  many  farms. 

San  Augustine. — No  fatal  disease  has  j)rcvailed  among  any  class  of  our  domestic  ani- 
mals during  the  year. 

Shelby. — We  have  had  no  epidemic  among  our  farm  animals  this  year.  Some  chol- 
era has  prevailed  among  hogs,  and  a  few  deaths  have  occurred,  but  the  aggregate 
loss  has  been  light.     Chicken  cholera  has  also  prevailed. 

Stephens. — No  disease  exists  among  farm  stock  in  this  county  except  scab  in  sheep, 
and  as  that  disease  rarely  kills,  the  loss  has  not  been  very  heavy.  The  "norther" 
struck  our  sheep  just  after  being  ''dipped,"  and  caused  the  death  of  a  great  many. 

Throckmorton. — Heavy  losses  occurred  among  sheep  in  this  county  in  1882,  caused 
by  the  animals  eating  a  weed  which  grows  on  tlie  ranges.  Sheep  feeding  upon  it 
Avould  die  in  a  few  hours.  I  myself  lost  400  head  of  high-grade  Merinos,  worth  $5  per 
head.     Three  hundred  of  this  number  died  in  two  days.     Similar  losses  extended  over 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        349 

the  entire  county.  I  telegraphed  Dr.  H.  J.  Detmers,  who  was  then  at  San  Antonio, 
requesting  him  to  come  and  investigate  the  cause  of  the  trouble,  bat  he  made  no  re- 
ply. I  afterward  wrote  him  and  inclosed  a  specimen  of  the  weed,  but  failed  to  elicit 
a  reply.  The  only  disease  now  prevalent  is  scab,  which  has  resi:ited  our  eftbrts  for 
many  years,  but  we  are  now  getting  it  somewhat  under  control. 

Titus. — Horses  have  not  suffered  with  any  epidemic  disease  the  past  year.  Cattle 
are  generally  healthy,  though  a  good  many  die  of  poverty  during  the  winter.  Fowls 
die  here  with  a  disease  known  as  cholera,  and  when  it  strikes  a  flock  it  seldom  leaves 
one  alive.     We  have  no  preventive  or  cure. 

Tom  Green. — Horses,  cattle,  and  hogs  seem  to  be  in  a  healthy  condition.  Sheep  are 
suffering  with  scab,  but  the  losses  on  the  ground  are  very  small. 

Trinity. — All  kinds  of  domestic  animals  are  free  from  contagious  diseases.  A  dis- 
ease of  some  kind  prevails  among  fowls  in  certain  localities. 

Tyler. — No  diseases  of  a  destructive  character  have  jirevailed  among  any  class  of 
farm  animals  in  this  county  the  past  year. 

Wdshxnijton. — No  epidemic  worthy  of  notice  has  appeared  among  any  class  of  our 
farm  animals  the  past  year,  though  animals  die  occasionally  from  various  causes. 
Some  disease  prevails  among  fowls. 

Webb. — No  epidemic  has  appeared  among  the  domestic  animals  of  this  county  dur- 
ing the  years  188'2-'83.  Sheep  raising  is  our  largest  interest.  The  losses  among  these 
animals  are  not  large. 

Williamson. — Poverty  and  neglect  causes  more  losses  among  farm  animals  than  dis- 
ease. Distemper  is  the  principal  disease  among  horses  and  cattle.  I  have  also  to  re- 
port a  few  cases  of  black-leg  among  young  cattle,  and  some  scab  among  sheep. 
Cholera  prevails  to  some  extent  among  fowls. 

Victoria. — Our  farm  animals  have  never  been  visited  by  an  epidemic  of  any  kind. 

VERMONT. 

Brnninf/ton. — From  all  the  information  I  can  gather  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the 
general  condition  of  all  farm  animals  in  this  county,  as  regards  health,  has  been  good. 
No  disease  of  an  epidemic  nature  has  prevailed  among  neat  cattle,  and  only  the  ordi- 
nary distemper  of  a  mild  character  among  horses.  The  only  serious  trouble  we  ever 
have  among  cattle  is  abortion  in  cows.  The  direct  cause  of  this  trouble  has  never 
been  satisfactorily  given. 

Caledonia. — Several  horses  have  died  during  the  year  with  the  following  symptoms : 
First,  dumpish,  unable  to  swallow,  low  pulse,  cold  extremities,  difficulty  in  walking, 
and  in  two  or  three  days  down  and  unable  to  rise ;  hungry  and  thirsty,  but  unable  to 
swallow,  convulsions,  and  death  in  most  cases  in  three  or  four  days.  On  one  farm 
three  horses  died  in  this  way.  The  second  and  third  were  exposed  to  the  first.  What 
was  the  disease  ?  Many  young  hogs  have  died  suddenly.  While  apparently  well 
they  would  give  a  ]>iercing  scream  and  drop  dead,  and  the  carcass  would  mortify  in 
a  few  minutes.     What  was  the  disease? 

Chittenden. — I  find  it  impossible  to  give  the  statistics  desired. 

Lamoille — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  farm  animals 
the  past  year,  hence  the  losses  have  been  very  small. 

Orleans.— AU  classes  of  farm  animals  in  this  county  are  very  healthy. 

liutland. — There  has  been  no  prevailing  disease  among  our  farm  aninuils.  Horses 
occasionally  have  an  epizootic  cold,  but  these  are  not  as  severe  or  frequent  as  when 
the  disease  first  appeared,  and  but  few  losses  occur. 

Windsor. — No  diseases  of  a  fatal  character  have  iirevailed  among  any  class  of  farm 
animals  in  this  county  during  the  current  year. 

VIUCilXIA. 

Albemarle. — There  has  been  some  cholera  among  hogs,  but  the  fatality  lias  not  been 
great.     Some  cattle  fever  wa«  brought  here  by  the  importation  of  some  cattle  from 


350  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

the  south  side  of  the  James  River.     This  disease  was  more  extended  this  year  than 
hist. 

Amelia. — I  give  the  vahie  of  the  losses  among  farm  animals  as  follows  for  the  past 
year,  viz:  Horses,  f2,000;  hogs,  $8,000;  sheep,  $4,000;  and  fowls,  $2,000. 

Bath. — I  have  no  losses  to  report  among  the  farm  animals  of  this  countj*  as  the 
result  of  contagious  or  epidemic  diseases. 

Bland. — No  contagious  diseases  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  farm  stock 
during  the  past  twelve  months. 

Buchanan. — All  farm  animals  have  been  entirely  free  from  diseases  the  past  year 
except  horses.  An  occasional  case  of  distemper  has  occurred  among  these  animals, 
but  I  have  heard  of  no  deaths  resulting. 

Caroline. — Distemper  among  horses  has  been  the  most  prevalent  disease  that  we 
have  had  to  contend  with  among  farm  stock.  Considerable  disease  has  existed  among 
thickens. 

Clarke. — So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  no  epidemic  diseases  have  appeared 
among  any  class  of  our  farm  animals  the  past  year.  In  1882  hog  cholera  prevailed 
extensively,  and  entailed  a  loss  of,  say,  500  animals,  valued  at  $1,500. 

Essex. — All  classes  of  farm  animals  have  enjoyed  remarkably  good  health  during 
the  past  year. 

Fairfax. — There  seems  to  be  no  disease  of  a  fatal  character  prevailing  among  any 
class  of  farm  stock  in  this  county. 

Frederick. — From  the  best  information  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  I  am  satisfied  there 
has  been  but  little  disease  prevalent  among  our  farm  animals  the  past  year.  A  few 
hogs  and  fowls  have  died  of  a  disease  generally  designated  as  cholera. 

Greene. — N(»  losses  of  consequence  have  occurred  from  disease  among  farm  animals 
in  this  county  the  current  year. 

Hanover. — But  few  losses  have  occurred  from  disease  .among  the  farm  animals  of  this 
county  the  past  year.  I  estimate  them  as  follows :  Horses,  $2,500 ;  cattle,  $1,000 ;  hogs, 
$400;  sheep,  $360;  and  fowls,  $250. 

Henry. — No  diseases  have  prevailed  among  horses  and  less  than  the  usual  number 
among  cattle.     Hogs  and  fowls  have  suffered  to  some  extent  with  the  usual  maladies. 

Highland. — No  epidemic  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  farm  animals  in  this  county 
the  past  year. 

Isle  of  Wight. — Sheep  have  died  of  some  kind  of  head  or  brain  disease.  Hogs  for 
many  years,  and  especially  the  past,  have  suffered  greatly  from  the  ravages  of  cholera. 
They  rarely  ever  recover  from  an  attack,  and  if  they  do,  are  rarely  of  any  value  there- 
after.    Great  numbers  of  fowls  also  annually  die  of  a  disease  called  cholera. 

James  Citij. — Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  are  healthy.  Hogs  are  affected  with  cholera 
and  mange.  Fowls,  especially  hens  and  turkeys,  suffer  severely  with  cholera.  If 
you  could  banish  this  disease  from  this  county  the  raising  of  fowls  would  be  most 
profitable. 

King  and  Queen. — From  the  best  information  I  can  get  I  am  satisfied  that  our  losses 
among  farm  animals  have  not  been  vei'y  heavy  the  past  year.  The  following  is  re- 
garded as  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  animals  that  have  died  of  disease  : 
Horses,  $2,000;  cattle,  $1,500;  hogs,  $2,000;  sheep,  $250;  and  fowls,  $625. 

Lancaster. — I  find  it  impossible  to  furnish  the  information  called  for  by  your  cir- 
cular. 

Louisa. — We  have  had  no  epidemic  among  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  In  some  neigh- 
borhoods we  have  had  what  was  supposed  to  be  cholera  among  hogs,  a  disease  which 
proved  quite  fatal  to  the  animals  attacked.  The  same  might  be  said  of  fowls.  Of 
the  number  of  the  latter  attacked  more  than  50  per  cent.  died. 

Lunenburg. — No  infectious  or  contagious  disease  has  prevailed  among  our  farm  ani- 
mals the  past  year.     There  have  been  some  losses  among  fowls  by  the  usual  disease. 

Matthews. — No  special  disease  to  report  as  prevailing  among  farm  animals.  A  great 
many  fowls  die  of  choleia. 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        351 

Mecklenburg. — Distemper  has  prevailed  quite  extensively  among  horses,  and  while 
it  has  rarely  proved  fatal,  it  has  been  very  inconvenient.  There  has  also  been  some 
distemper  among  cattle  and  cholera  among  hogs.  A  great  many  hogs  have  also  died 
from  eating  poisonous  mushrooms. 

Montgomery. — The  loss  during  the  past  year  among  hogs  and  fowls  has  been  heavy. 
It  is  difficult  to  get  reliable  ligures,  but  I  think  at  least  70  per  cent,  of  the  hogs  of  the 
county  have  died  daring  the  year,  and  perhaps  20  per  cent,  of  the  fowls.  Garden  rue 
is  used  successfully  as  a  preventive  of  chicken  cholera.  It  is  used  as  a  tea,  which 
the  fowls  drink  instead  of  water. 

Xorthanq^ton. — For  the  past  twelve  months  the  domestic  animals  in  this  county 
have  been  extremely  healthy. 

Orange. — I  tind  it  impossible  to  give  anything  like  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  value 
of  losses  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  past  year.  No  epidemic  disease 
has  prevailed  among  any  class. 

Princess  Anne. — The  only  animals  that  have  suffered  from  disease  this  year  have 
been  hogs.  The  disease  is  not  so  wide-spread  as  in  former  years,  and  seems  to  be  of  a 
different  character.  It  is  called  "thumps."  Fatal  diseases  have  prevailed  among 
fowls. 

Prince  Edward. — The  following  is  regarded  as  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  the 
losses  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  for  the  past  year:  Horses,  $4,600 ;  cattle, 
$950  ;  hogs,  $600 ;  sheep,  $138  ;  and  fowls,  $500. 

Richmond. — I  have  heard  of  no  diseases  worthy  of  reporting  among  our  domestic 
animals  and  but  very  little  among  fowls.  Fowls  suffer  most  from  the  disease  known 
as  cholera. 

Spottsylvuuia. — Horses  have  suffered  to  some  extent  with  pink-eye  and  distemper.  A 
great  many  hogs  have  died  of  cholera  and  black-tooth.  Cattle  and  sheep  have  been 
free  from  disease.     Fowls  have  been  afflicted  with  cholera. 

Tazewell. — The  principal  loss  among  cattle  is  caused  by  a  disease  known  among  us  as- 
black-leg.  The  disease  attacks  the  fattest  animals  only,  and  those  that  are  attacked 
live  but  a  few  hours. 

fFise. — Hogs  are  the  only  farm  animals  in  this  county  that  have  suffered  during  the 
past  year  with  anything  like  a  contagious  disease. 

WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Barbour. — No  diseases  prevalent  among  horses.  Diseases  among  cattle  are  confined 
mostly  to  young  stock.  The  loss  among  these  animals  has  been  quite  heavy,  and  will 
amount  in  value  to  over  $7,000.  Cholera  has  prevailed  extensively  among  fowls  and 
has  been  quite  fatal. 

Berk'  ley. — No  destructive  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  our  domestic  animals  the 
past  year. 

Boone. — Losses  caused  among  our  farm  animals  by  disease  during  the  past  year  have 
been  very  small. 

Cabell. — Hog  cholera  is  about  the  only  disease  that  has  proved  destructive  to  our 
farm  animals  the  past  year.     It  is  now  prevailing  and  generally  proves  fatal. 

Doddridge. — The  following  I  regard  as  a  correct  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  losses 
among  farm  animals  in  this  county  the  past  year:  Horses,  $400;  cattle,  $3,375;  ho<.8, 
$3,000;  sheep,  $1,250  ;  and  fowls,  $2,500. 

Fayette. — The  only  losses  of  consequence  sustained  among  any  class  of  farm  animals 
by  disease  the  past  year  have  been  among  hogs. 

Gilmer. — No  contagious  or  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  do- 
mestic animals  in  this  county  the  past  year. 

Grant. — A  majority  of  the  farm  animals  of  this  county  have  maintained  good  health 
the  past  year.     There  has  been  some  cholera  among  botli  hogs  and  fowls. 

Greenbrier. — There  have  been  some  cases  of  pink-eye  among  horses  and  black-leg 
among  yearling  calves.     Hogs  have  suffered  with   a  disease  supi)osed  to  be  cholera. 


352  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF   DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Tliey  have  a  cough  and  soon  quit  eating.  Nearly  all  the  yonng  animals  affected  die. 
The  disease  seems  to  be  coulined  to  localities  where  the  hogs  feed  on  acorns.  Cholera 
also  prevails  among  fowls,  and  the  losses  have  been  quite  heavy. 

Hardy. — Very  little  disease  among  horses.  Cattle  have  suffered  with  black-leg, 
hollow-horn,  murrain,  and  foot-evil.  Last  spring  our  young  hogs  died  of  cholera  in 
certain  localities  like  flies.  Sheep  have  died  of  rot,  and  a  great  many  fowls  of  cholera. 
The  following  is  regarded  as  a  fair  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  losses  for  the  year^ 
Horses,  $800  :  cattle,  $7,500  ;  hogs,  $7,500  ;  sheep,  $2,250  ;  and  fowls,  $500. 

Harrison. — But  few  losses  have  occurred  from  disease  among  the  farm  animals  of 
this  county  the  current  year. 

Jackson. — Farm  animals  of  all  kinds  are  looking  well.  No  contagious  or  infectious 
disease  has  existed  amoi}g  them  the  past  year. 

McDowell. — Our  farm  animals  have  escaped  all  fatal  diseases  during  the  past  two 
years.  Hog  cholera  appeared  in  some  localities  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Buchanan 
in  the  early  part  of  the  fall,  but  the  area  of  infection  has  not  enlarged. 

Marshall. — There  have  been  no  losses  from  disease  among  any  class  of  farm  stock  in 
this  county  which  could  be  reliably  estimated.  Some  cases  of  distemper  have  been 
reported  among  horses,  but  there  have^been  few  deaths. 

Mason. — No  contagious  or  epidemic  disease  has  visited  any  class  of  our  domestic 
animals  this  year. 

Mercer. — No  disease  of  a  virulent  type  has  prevailed  among  our  horses,  thotigh  an 
animal  occasionally  dies  of  distemper.  Cattle  have  been  affected  with  murrain, 
hogs  with  cholera,  and  sheep  with  rot. 

Mineral. — All  classes  of  our  farm  animals  are  exceptionally  free  from  disease  of 
every  kind.  A  few  cases  of  cholera  have  occurred  among  hogs  and  fowls  during  the 
year. 

Monroe. — The  loss  of  hogs  in  a  j)ortion  of  this  county  has  been  considerable.  The 
disease  is  similar  to  scarlet  fever,  with  more  or  less  throat  trouble.  Some  par- 
^ties  have  lost  all,  while  others  have  saved  a  few  animals.  Those  that  recover  con- 
tinue poor  and  worthless.  The  disease  is  variously  jjronounced  scarlet  fever,  diph- 
theria, and  a  new  kind  of  cholera. 

Morgan. — The  only  disease  that  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of  farm  animals  has 
been  among  hogs.     Fowls  have  suffered  to  some  extent  with  the  usual  maladies. 

Mononr/alia. — Horses  are  frequently  attacked  with  distemper,  but  animals  rarely 
die  of  the  disease.  Cattle  are  subject  to  black-leg,  which  usually  i^roves  fatal. 
Sheep  die  of  rot,  and  fowls  of  gapes  and  cholera. 

Nicholas. — Horses  are  occasionally  afflicted  with  a  mild  type  of  distemper.  Cholera 
has  destroyed  a  great  many  hogs,  but  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  number 
or  value.     Sheep  have  the  rot,  but  that  disease  don't  amount  to  much. 

P/ert.san^s.— There  have  been  no  contagious  or  epidemic  diseases  among  our  farm  an- 
imals. Some  losses  have  occurred  among  sheep  and  fowls,  but  it"  is  very  difficult  to 
value  the  loss. 

Preston. — Sixty-tliree  horses  died  in  this  county  during  the  year  of  pneumonia,  and 
27  of  other  diseases.  A  few  cattle  died  of  murrain,  and  some  hogs  of  the  usual  dis- 
eases.    Grub  in  the  head  is  the  only  thing  that  has  afflicted  sheep. 

Raleigh. — Hog  cholera  is  the  only  disease  of  a  contagious  character  prevalent 
among  farm  stock  in  this  county.     It  has  been  quite  destructive. 

Randolph. — We  have  had  no  widespread  disease  among  any  class  of  our  domestic 
animals  during  the  year.     A  few  cases  of  black-leg  have  occurred  among  cattle. 

Ritchie. — Stock  is  in  unusually  good  condition  and  entirely  free  from  disease. 

Roane. — A  few  hogs  and  quite  a  large  number  of  sheex)  have  died  during  the  year 
of  diseases  incident  to  these  aninmls. 

Summers. — The  only  losses  of  consequence  among  farm  animals  have  occurred 
among  hogs.  I  think  I  can  safely  estimate  that  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  numl)er  in 
the  county  have  died  during  the  year.     The  disease  is  similar  to  swine  plague  as  de- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATRD    ANIMALS.        353 

scribed  in  your  Department  report.  The  lungs  were  much  discolored;  there  was 
swelling  under  the  jaws ;  weakness  in  the  hinder  parts,  so  that  when  they  attempted 
to  get  up  they  would  fall  backward.     Many  persons  lost  every  hog  they  had. 

Tyler. — Occasionally  our  best  and  most  piomisiug  yearling  calves  are  attacked  and 
die  of  the  disease  known  as  black-leg.  At  least  90  per  cent,  of  those  attacked  by 
this  disease  die. 

Upshur. — Pink-eye  has  proved  fatal  to  some  horses  in  this  county  during  the  year. 
Black-leg  has  been  very  destnictive  to  young  cattle. 

Webster. — No  epidemic  diseases  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our  domestic 
animals  this  year. 

Wetzel. — I  iind  it  impossible  to  procure  the  statistics  you  desire. 

Wyominff. — Hogs  have  suffered  with  cholera  during  the  summer  and  fall  mouths. 
The  disease  has  proved  quite  fatal.     No  treatment  seemed  to  be  of  any  service. 

WISCONSIN. 

.  Adams. — I  have  but  a  limited  knowledge  of  the  number  of  farm  animals  in  thi» 
county,  and  have  not  the  statistics  at  hand  to  answer  your  circular  letter  intelligently. 
Theie  are  but  few  diseases  among  any  class,  aiid  I  do  not  think  that  over  1  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  number  die  of  disease. 

Barron. — There  are  no  special  diseases  prevailing  at  this  time  auioiig  our  farm  ani- 
mals, nor  have  there  been  during  the  past  year. 

Brown. — All  classes  of  domestic  animals  in  this  county  have  remained  exempt  from 
infectious  and  contagious  diseases  this  year. 

Buffalo. — The  losses  among  farm  animals  in  this  county  caused  by  disease  have 
been  exceedingly  light  the  past  year.  Nothing  like  an  epidemic  has  prevailed  ainong^ 
any  class. 

Calumet. — No  fatal  disease  has  visited  any  of  our  farm  animals  during  the  past  ten 
years;  hence  I  have  no  report  to  make  of  losses. 

Chippewa. — Some  lung  diseases  have  i)revailed  among  horses,  but  the  losses  liave 
been  very  light.     Farm  animals  generally  are  in  good  health. 

Dane. — No  diseases  of  any  kind  prevail  among  the  domestic  animals  of  this  county. 

Dodge. — Pink-eye  has  prevailed  among  horses,  but  it  has  rarely  proved  fatal.  A. 
case  of  supposed  glanders  occurred  early  in  the  year.  Two  valuable  horses  were 
attacked,  one  of  which  was  killed  Before  the  other  one  was  killed  another  veteri- 
narian decided  that  the  disease  was  not  glanders,  and  took  the  horse  in  hand  and  soon 
cured  him.     There  has  been  no  disease  among  other  classes  of  animals. 

Dorr. — No  diseases  of  a  fatal  character  have  recently  visited  any  class  of  our  do- 
mestic animals.     A  few  fowls  died  with  the  cholera  during  the  summer  months. 

Douglas. — There  is  no  disease  prevailing  among  our  farm  animals,  nor  has  there 
been  the  past  year.     Our  fowls,  when  ])roperly  cared  for,  are  remarkably  In-althy. 

Dunn, — All  our  farm  animals  are  exceptionally  healthy.  With  the  exception  of 
horses  which  die  from  neglect,  old  age,  &c.,  the  losses  are  so  few  that  they  are  hardly 
worth  mentioning. 

Eau  Claire. — No  infectious  or  coutagious  diseases  have  prevailed  among  our  farm 
stock  or  fowls  during  the  year. 

Fond  du  Lau. — I  find  it  impossible  to  give  the  information  requ(;sted  in  your  circular 
letter. 

Green  Lalce. — There  has  been  no  ))rcvailiMg  disease  among  farm  animals  in  this 
county  during  the  i)ast  year — not  that  all  animals  are  in  perfect  health,  but  there 
are  no  diseases  except  such  as  result  from  lack  of  care  and  other  common  causes. 

Jefferson.— Thexe  have  been  no  contagions  or  epidemic  diseases  prevalent  among 
farm  stock  in  this  county  during  the  past  year.  The  mortality  has,  therefore,  been 
no  greater  than  could  be  looked  for  among  healthy  stock. 

Juneau. — Hogs  valued  at  .f2,00()  have  been  lost  by  disease  in  this  county  the  past 
year.     A  great  many  fowls  have  also  died  of  the  various  diseases  incidenf  to  (hem. 

5751  D  A 23 


354  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

Kenosha. — No  fatal  diseases  have  beeu  reported  as  prevailing  among  farm  animals 
in  this  conuty  the  past  year. 

Keivaunee. — No  losses  worthy  of  record  have  occurred  among  any  class  of  our  farm 
stock  during  the  past  j'ear. 

La  Fayeite. — No  epidemic  disease  has  prevailed  duriug  the  year  among  horses,  cattle , 
hogs,  or  sheep.  Fowls  are  sufferiug  with  cholera  to  some  extent ;  perhaps  2  per  cent, 
have  been  afi'ected. 

Marquetle. — Some  few  horses  and  cattle  have  died  during  the  year,  but  hogs  and 
sheep  have  remained  healthy. 

Fierce. — A  great  many  horses  have  beeu  attacked  by  distemper,  and  several  cases 
have  proved  fiital.  Pink-eye  prevailed  quite  extensively  among  these  animals  last 
year. 

y"  Folk. — The  past  year  has  been  oue  of  more  than  usual  health  among  all  classes  of 
farm_^auimal8  iu  this  county. 

Racine. — Farm  animals  generally  have  done  well  the  past  year.  I  have  uo  means 
of  ascertaining  the  value  of  the  losses. 

Richland. — I  hear  of  the  prevalence  of  no  diseases  among  stock  except  pink-eye  iu 
horses.  A  great  mauy  of  these  animals  are  bliud  or  nearly  so.  The  disease  is  not 
often  fatal. 

Sauk. — The  diseases  of  horses  are  mostly  caused  by  overwork.     Hogs  in  one  locality 
have  been  afflicted  to  some  extent,  but  the  losses  have  not  been  very  great. 
^   Sheboygan. — No  e]}idemic  of  any  kind  has  appeared  among  our  domestic  animals 
the  past  year.     That  our  county  is  so  exceptionally  free  from  all  animal  plagues  is  iu 
a  great  measure  owing  to  the  stringent  regulations  of  our  county  dairy  association. 

Trempealeau. — The  only  contagious  disease  that  has  prevailed  among  any  class  of 
live  stock  the  past  year  has  been  horse  distemper.  There  have  been  some  losses  from 
this  disease. 

Vernon. — Horses  have  lieen  afflicted  with  distemper,  and  cattle  with  heart  disease, 
or  dry  murrain,  and  black-leg.  Swine  plague  has  prevailed  quite  extensively,  grub 
in  the  head  has  caused  the  death  of  a  great  many  sheep,  and  chob  ra  has  prevailed  to 
some  extent  among  fowls. 

Waukesha. — All  kinds  of  farm  animals  are  in  excellent  health.  No  unusual  or  ep- 
idemic disease  has  visited  them  during  the  year. 

THE  TERRITORIES. 


Apache. — Aside  from  cattle  and  sheep  there  are  bnt  few  farm  animals  in  this  county 
There  are  12,000  of  the  former  and  300,000  of  the  latter.  The  county  is  better  adapted, 
to  sheep  raising  than  anything  else.     Both  cattle  and  sheep  are  in  good  health. 

Yavapai. — No  contagious  diseases  have  visited  any  class  of  farm  animals  iu  this 
county  the  past  year. 


Aurora. — This  couutyhas  been  organized  but  thirty  months,  and  the  few  farm  ani- 
mals we  have  were  brought  iu  from  the  States.  All  classes  have  been  very  healthy. 
It  is  reported  that  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the  county  a  peculiar  disease 
has  attacked  the  horses,  causing  the  death  of  two  or  three  animals.  The  symptoms 
are  similar  to  an  attack  of  hiccough. 

Bon  nomine. — I  have  no  losses  of  cousetjueuce  to  report  as  having  occurred  from 
disease  among  our  fai'ui  animals  for  the  past  year. 

Brule. — A  good  manj^  horses  died  in  this  county  during  the  year,  but  none  with 
infectious  or  contagious  diseases.  Hard  work,  uo  stables,  long  drives,  poor  care,  and 
in  some  cases  poor  water,  all  combined  made  the  fatality  serious.     Black-leg  or  an- 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        355 

tbrax  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  cattle  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  county. 
The  disease  was  quite  fatal. 

Ca88. — The  farm  animals  of  this  county  have  remained  exempt  from  all  infectious 
and  contagious  diseases  during  the  year. 

Clay. — No  epidemic  diseases  have  prevailed  among  our  farm  animals  during  the 
past  \ear.  An  occasional  death  has  occurred,  but  always  from  natural  or  accidental 
causes. 

Codington. — All  classes  of  domestic  animals,  with  the  exceptiou  of  horses,  have  re- 
mained healthy  throughout  the  year.     A  correspondent  at  Watertowu  reports  glan- 
.  ders  as  prevalent  in  his  part  of  the  county.     He  says  there  are  probably  50  horses 
affected  with  the  disease  at  this  time.     It  proves  fatal  in  almost  every  case. 

Charles  Mix. — Horses  have  been  healthy.  A  disease  has  prevailed  among  mules 
which  has  proved  fatal  in  almost  every  instance.  The  disease  is  called  meningitis, 
but  nobody  really  seems  to  know  anything  about  it.  Some  spring  calves  and  a  few 
yearlings  have  been  lost  by  a  disease  known  as  black-leg. 

Deuel. — Horses,  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs,  where  well  taken  care  of,  have  been  excep- 
tionally healthy.     Our  feeding  places  are  high  and  dry,  and  conducive  to  health. 

Faulk. — This  county  was  only  organized  about  one  month  ago,  therefore  we  have 
no  statistics  as  to  numbers  of  animals  or  value  of  losses.  I  have  heard  of  no  fatal 
diseases  among  any  class. 

Grant. — It  may  seem  like  a  strange  report,  to  say  that  there  have  been  no  losses 
among  farm  stock  in  this  county  during  the  year,  but  such  is  literally  the  fact.  The 
county  is  new,  and  the  stock  youug,  vigorous,  and  healthy. 

Hamlin. — The  only  losses  that  have  occurred  during  the  year  among  our  farm  ani- 
mals have  been  among  horses  and  sheep.  These  losses  have  been  quite  light,  and 
were  not  caused  by  any  epidemic  disease. 

Sand. — We  have  but  a  small  number  of  domestic  animals  in  this  county.  No  un- 
usual disease  has  prevailed  among  either  class  or  among  fowls  the  current  year. 

Hutchinson. — There  has  been  no  general  disease  among  domestic  animals  during 
the  year.  Casi  s  of  sickness  are  generally  brought  on  by  exposure  or  neglect.  Three 
or  four  cases  of  so  called  black-leg  that  I  investigated  appeared  to  be  inflammation 
of  the  lungs.     Farmers  are  abandoning  sheep  raising. 

McCook. — A  great  many  horses  have  been  affected  with  a  dropsical  disease,  which 
seems  to  have  proved  fatal  in  some  cases.  Black  quarter  has  affected  the  cattle  to  a 
considerable  extent.  It  has  been  mostly  confined  to  calves,  yearlings,  and  two-year- 
olds. 

Minnihaha. — A  lew  cattle  have  been  afiected  with  the  big  jaw,  or  swelling  of  the 
jaw  and  throat.     Our  heaviest  losses  among  cattle  have  occurred  from  black-leg. 

Morton. — The  only  disease  of  a  contagious  character  among  any  class  of  farm  ani- 
mals is  that  knowu  as  scab  among  sheep.  It  prevails  only  in  one  flock — a  drove  of 
2,000  head,  brought  from  Minnesota  in  October. 

Sanhorn. — No  losses  are  reported  as  having  occurred  among  the  domestic  animals  of 
this  county  during  the  year. 

Spink. — I  have  no  facilities  for  j/rocuring  the  information  asked  for  by  your  circular 
letter. 

iStutsmau. — This  county  has  been  but  recently  organized,  and  we  have  but  a  limited 
number  of  farm  animals  as  yet.  There  are  no  contagious  diseases  prevalent.  Expos- 
ure to  inclement  weather  caused  the  death  of  about  '>  per  cent,  of  the  sheep  of  the 
countj,  last  winter. 

Turner. — Some  pink-eye  has  ))revaih'd  among  horses,  but  no  deaths  have  resulted. 
Other  classes  of  animals  are  healthy. 

H'alsh. — No  diseases  worth  mentioning  are  prevalent  among  any  kinds  of  live  stock. 

Yankton. — I  estimate  the  value  of  the  farm  animals  and  fowls  lost  iu  this  county 
the  past  year  as  follows  :  Horses,  $12,000  ;  cattle,  $8,400 ;  hogs,  $3,000  ;  sheep,  $150 
aud  fowls,  $216. 


3o6  CONTAGIOUS    DISEASKS    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS. 

iM  ON  TAX  A. 

GaUdtin. — There  have  been  some  deaths  among  horses  cansed  by  distemper  and 
pneumonia.  There  has  been  some  scab  among  sheep,  bnt  the  losses  have  been  light. 
Hog  diseases  are  not  known  here. 

Lewis  and  Chtrke. — All  classes  of  domestic  animals  are  healthy  and  free  from  de- 
strnctive  diseases. 

NEW   MEXICO. 

Grant. — In  May  last  a  disease  supposed  to  be  black-leg  broke  out  among  calves  in 
this  county,  and  carried  ofi' all  attacked.  In  September  Texas  fever  was  brought 
into  the  county  by  a  herd  of  Texan  cattle.  Fully  500  head  of  cattle  were  destroyed 
by  the  disease.  During  the  summer  mouths  cholera  destroyed  a  large  number  of 
fowls. 

Santa  Fv. — I  tind  it  impossible  to  furnish  the  information  desired  by  the  Depart- 
ment. 

San  MUjucl. — A  number  of  horses  have  been  poisoned  and  died  from  eating  the  loco 
weed.  We  have  100,000  head  of  cattle  and  500,000  head  of  sheep  in  the  county.  I  do 
not  think  the  annual  losses  among  these  animals  from  all  causes  will  exceed  2  per 
cent.  A  great  many  of  these  animals  have  died  from  eating  the  poisonous  loco  weed. 
In  some  localities  this  weed  does  not  seem  to  affect  stock. 


liox  Elder. — No  destructive  diseases  among  our  farm  animals  this  year.  Last  year 
50  horses  died  of  the  disease  known  as  pink-eye,  and  150  head  of  yearlings  of  horned 
■  cattle  died  of  black-leg. 

Daxis. — 1  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  number  of  farm  animals  in  this  county. 
I  have  heard  of  n'o  diseases  prevailing  among  them. 

Salt  Lake. — A  few  horses  have  died  during  the  year  of  disease.  This  is  a  very 
healthful  county  for  stock,  and  if  the  animals  were  properly  protected  and  cared  for 
the  losses  would  be  nominal.  Scab  is  the  only  disease  that  troubles  sheep.  Putrid 
fever  has  prevailed  to  some  extent  among  cattle  on  the  ranges. 

Millard. — This  is  a  very  good  climate  for  stock,  and  the  mortality  is  never  very 
great  among  any  class  from  epidemic  diseases. 

Mor<ian. — Horses  and  horned  cattle  do  remarkably  well  in  this  county,  and  are 
rarely  visited  by  epidemic  diseases.  Cholera  and  black  teeth  are  the  prevailing  dis- 
eases among  hogs.  There  is  some  scab  among  shee]>  and  the  usual  diseases  among 
fowls. 

Touele. — The  value  of  the  losses  aun^ng  all  classes  of  farm  animals  in  this  county 
from  disease  the  past  year  will  not  exceed  $2,000. 

WASHINGTON. 

Asotin. — We  have  the  disease  known  as  pink-eye  among  horses.  It  seems  to  be 
quite  variable  in  its  fatality — to  depend,  to  a  considerable  extent,  upon  the  range. 
Some  cases  of  black-leg  have  occurred  among  young  cattle,  with  invariably  fatal 
results.  This  is  a  new  county,  formed  from  a  portion  of  Gartield  and  Columbia 
counties. 

Cullohan. — Our  farm  animals  are  in  good  health,  and  I  have  no  losses  to  report 
from  disease  for  the  current  year. 

Garfield. — Pink-eye  prevails  among  horses,  but  generally  in  a  mild  form.  Rest 
and  turning  out  to  grass  has  been  found  the  tnost  successful  treatment.  Black-leg 
prevails  among  cattle,  but  is  generally  confined  to  young  stock.  Hogs  are  never 
diseased  in  this  locality. 

fslnnd. — There  has  been  no  epidemic  among  farm  animals  here.  Fowls,  however, 
arc  frequently  troubled  with  a  disease  that  causes  the  death  of  numbers  of  them, 


CONTAGIOUS    DISEASES    OF    DOMESTICATED    ANIMALS.        357 

both  at  maturity  and  while  young.  Early  spring  turkeys  have  a  stiftening  of  the 
joints  of  the  legs  that  soon  causes  death.  It  is  apparently  a  kind  of  rheumatism. 
Those  hatched  late  escape  the  trouble.  I  have  been  hatching  by  artilicial  means  the 
past  season.  As  a  result,  I  Hnd  a  chicken's  future  is  determined  by  its  first  three 
weeks  of  care. 

San  Juan. — There  have  been  twelve  fatal  cases  of  black-leg  among  calves  in  this 
locality.  Bleeding  in  the  early  stages  of  the  disease  has  been  found  beneficial.  A 
few  fowls  have  been  lost,  but  with  no  marked  disease. 

Sjjokane.— Horses  in  this  county  are  frequently  affected  with  glanders,  distemper, 
and  other  nasal  diseases.  Black-foot  is  the  only  disease  that  ever  attacks  our  cattle. 
Diseases  among  swine  are  not  known. 

Thurston. — I  have  no  losses  to  report  among  farm  animals  or  fowls  for 'the  jiast 
year.     All  seem  to  be  healthy  and  in  fine  order. 

Wahkiakum. — I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  no  diseases  of  any  kind  prevail  among 
our  farm  animals,  conse(iuently  I  have  no  losses  to  report. 

Whatcom. — No  diseases  of  a  fatal  character  have  prevailed  among  any  class  of  our 
domestic  animals  for  some  years  past. 

Whitman.— Some  few  cases  of  anemia  and  pink-eye  have  occurred  among  horses, 
but  not  more  than  5  per  cent,  of  those  attacked  have  died.  No  other  class  of  stock 
has  suffered  with  disease. 

WYOMING. 

Albany. — No  disease  of  consequence  has  prevailed  among  horses  or  cattle  this  year. 
Sheep  have  been  afflicted  with  scab.  Animals  valued  at  $1,125  have  been  lost  by 
this  disease. 

Johnson. — The  prevalent  disease  among  our  horses  is  called  pink-eye,  which  occa- 
sionally proves  fatal.  This  is  a  grazing  county,  and  contains  some  200,000  head  of 
cattle  of  all  ages.  A  few  of  these  animals  have  been  affected  with  swollen  jaw.  As 
a  general  thing  they  have  been  healthy,  and  the  value  of  the  losses  will  not  exceed 
$5,000  for  the  year.     Scab  has  prevailed  in  sheep,  but  the  losses  have  been  light. 

f7i«<a7i.— There  has  been  no  epidemic  or  fatal  disease  among  farm  animals  in  this 
county  for  some  years  past.     Scab  in  sheep  occasionally  causes  a  small  loss. 


IN  D  EX. 


Page 

Abortion  in  cows 2U4 

Agriculture,  statement  prepared  for  House  Committee  on 16 

Alabama,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 302 

American  hogs,  i)roportion  trichiuosed 269 

pork,  amount  consumed  in  foreign  countries 273, 279 

in  Germany 188 

Leblanc's  view  of 277 

Proust's  view  of 276 

trichiniasis  produced  by,  abroad,  unfounded 279, 281 

Analyses  of  Americau  and  European  salts 289 

Anatomy  of  Syngannis  trachealis 107 

Animal  diseases  that  are  contagious 260 

their  relation  to  human  health 21 

industry  at  the  Hamburg  International  Exhibition 204 

Animals  of  the  farm.     (See  Farm  animals.) 

Arizona  farm  animals,  general  condition  of,  1883 354 

Arkansas  farm  animals,  general  condition  of,  1883 304 

swine  i)lague  in 300 

Bacilli  t he  ca use  of  Southern  cattle  fever 253 

Black-leg,  letters  concerning 291 

Breeding  horses  in  La  Perche,  France 183 

Breeds  of  cattle  in  England 193 

British  breeds  of  cattle 193 

draft  horses 198 

Buffalo  gnats  destroying  farm  animals 297 

remedies  for 299 

California,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 305 

Cattle  affected  with  ergot  ism  in  Kansas  89 

at  the  Hamburg  International  Exhibition  187, 202 

British  breeds  of 193 

diseases  of 291 

exposed  to  peluro-pneumonia  and  slaughtered  iu  Pennsylvania, table  of.  13, 14 
fever.     (See  Soutliern  cattle  fever.) 

poisoned  by  vegetation 296 

trade  with  Great  Britain 189 

restrictions  of 191 

Chemical  composition  of  ergot 48 

Colorado,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 « 306 

Connecticut,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 306 

lileuro-pneumonia  in 10 

Constitutional  symptoms  of  foot-and-mouth  disease 39 

Consumijtion.     (See  Tuberculosis.) 

359 


360  INDEX. 

Page. 

'Ooutagiou  as  a  cause  of  tuberculosis  iu  annuals 163 

Contagious  animal  diseases,  by  Dr.  E.  M.  Hunt 260 

laboratory  for  the  investigation  of 21 

necessity  of  examining  the  history  of 37 

'  Contagions  pleuro-pneumonia.     {See  Pleuro-pueumonia.) 

Contagiousness  of  foot-and-mouth  disease 37 

Cooking,  eft'ect  of,  on  trichin;e 277 

Correspondents,  letters  from 291 

on  abortion  in  cows 294 

black-leg 291 

impaction  of  manifold 295 

pleuro-pneumonia 293 

poisonous  vegetation 296,  297 

tuberculosis 294 

Cows,  abortion  iu 294 

Cultures  of  the  micrococcus  of  swine  plague 85 

Curing  process,  effect  on  trichinie 273 

Dakota,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 354 

Danger  from  contagious  pleuro-pneumonia 18 

Deaths  from  contagious  pleuro-pneumouia  in  New  Jersey 15 

Peunsylvania 14 

Delaware,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 306 

Description  of  the  gape-worm  of  fowls 107 

Detmers,  Dr.  H.  J. ,  report  on  Southern  cattle  fever 247 

Differential  diagnosis  of  contagious  pleuro-pneumonia 134, 140, 141 

Disease  of  fowls  caused  by  the  gape- worm 103 

Diseases  of  animals  that  are  contagious 260 

Distribution  of  Southern  cattle  fever 70 

District  of  Columbia,  contagious  pleuro  pneumonia  in 6 

Dogs,  ergot  of  rye,  effect  upon 51 

Dose  of  ergot  for  medicinal  purposes 56 

Draft  horses,  French 181 

English  and  Scotch 198 

Education  in  veterinary  medicine 146 

resolutious  of  the  International  Veterinary 

Congress 153, 179 

Effingham,  111.,  outbreak  of  supposed  foot-and-mouth  disease 24,28 

Emersleben  epidemic  of  trichiuiasis 275 

Enzootics  of  ergotism 21 

Epizootic  aphtha.     (See  Foot-and-mouth  disease.) 

Ergot,  action  on  animal  body .' 45,  48 

cause  of  enzootics,  evidence  pointing  to 33,  36 

chemical  composition 45 

dose  of 56 

food ,  percen  tage  in 34 

life-history  of 46 

medicinal  effects 50 

nature  of 45 

Read's  experiments ....  50 

red  top,  percentage  in 35 

Salerne's  experiments 49 

solip(^ds,  effect  on 50 

Tessier's  experiments 49 


INDEX. 


361 


Ergot,  toxic  effects  of 50 

wild  rye,  percentage  iu 3'^ 

Ergot  of  rye,  dogs,  effect  ou ol 

fowls,  effect  on 51 

pigs,  effect  on 51 

rnmiuants,  effect  ou 51 

Ergotine,  physiological  action  of 55 

Ergotism  among  cattle  in  Kansas f*9 

condition  of  cattle  attacked 30 

history  of 95 

Ergotism,  enzootics  in  the  West 21 

as  distinguished  from  foot-and-mouth  disease.  36 

foul-in-the-foot 41 

conditions  favorable  to 43 

gangrene  in ,    32, 33 

mouth  symptoms  in 32,40 

objections  to  theory  of 42 

occurring  at  the  same  time  on  widely  sepa- 
rated farms 38 

percentage  of  ergot  in  food 34 

udder,  eruption  on  the 41 

epidemics  of 60 

forms  of '. 99 

history  of - 56 

in  New  York 66 

Ohio 67 

Pennsylvania 68 

United  States 63 

prevention  of 69 

symptomatology  of 52 

treatment  and  prevention  of 69 

Europe,  history  of  ergotism  in 56 

European  hogs,  percentage  trichinosed 272 

Experiments  with  virus  of  swine  plague 84 

Export  cattle  trade  with  Great  Britain 189 

Extermination  of  pleuro-pneumonia  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 

advantages  of 20 

Farm  animals  destroyed  by  buff'alo-gnats 297 

general  condition,  1883 302 

iu  Alabama 302 

k  rkansas 304 

Arizona 354 

California 305 

Colorado 306 

Connecticut 306 

Dakota 354 

Delaware 306 

Florida 307 

Georgia 308 

Illinois 311 

Indiana 313 

Iowa 316 

Kansas 318 

Kentucky 321 


362  INDEX. 

Page. 

Farm  animals,  general  condition.  1883,  in  Louisiana 323 

Maine 324 

Maryland 324 

Massachusetts 32.5 

Michigan 32.5 

Minnesota 327 

Mississippi 328 

Missouri 330 

Montana 3.56 

Nebraska 332 

Nevada 333 

New  Hampshire 333 

New  Jersey 333 

New  Mexico 356 

New  York 334 

North  Carolina 336 

Ohio 338 

Oregon 340 

Pennsylvania 341 

Rhode  Island 342 

South  Carolina 342 

Tennessee 343 

Texas 346 

Utah 356 

Vermont 349 

Virginia 349 

Washington  Territory :i56 

West  Virginia 351 

Wisconstn 3.53 

Wyoming 358 

Feeding  animals  with  tubercular  matter 165 

Feet  symptoms  in  foot-and-mouth  disease 40 

Feu  sacrS 56 

Fever.     (-See Southern  cattle  fever.) 

Fleming,  report  on  epidemics  of  ergotism 60 

Florida,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 307 

Food,  condition  of,  in  the  Western  enzootics  of  ergotism  34 

Foot-and-mouth  disease 264 

contagiousness  of 37 

distinguished  from  ergotism .36 

in  Great  Britain 198 

nature  of 36 

supposed  outbreak  of,  in  Kansas 21,  89 

symptoms  of .39 

Foot-rot,  symptoms  of 41 

Foul-in-the-foot  distinguished  from  ergotism 41 

Fowls,  ergot,  effect  on 51 

gape  disease  of 103 

French  draft  horses 181 

pleuro-pneumonia  commission,  results  of  experiments 19 

Gangrene  in  the  Western  enzootics  of  ergotism 32, 41 

Gape  disease  of  fowls,  h  istory  of 104 

means  of  arresting 117, 119 


INDEX.  363 

Page 

Gape-worm  of  fowls,  description  of 107 

development  of 113 

destruction  of 117 

embryo  of 114 

larva  of 115, 120 

Geographical  distribution  of  Southern  cattle  fever 70 

Georgia,  districts  infected  with  Southern  cattle  fever 75 

farm  animals,  general  condition,  1883 308 

Germany,  epidemics  of  trichiuiasis  in 282 

Glanders  and  farcy  in  New  Jersey 267 

in  horses 237 

Hamburg  International  Exhibition 186, 199 

cattle  at  the 187 

horses  at  the 186 

sheep  at  the 188 

swine  at  the 188 

Heredity  as  a  cause  of  tuberculosis 162 

History  of  ergotism  among  cattle  iu  Kansas 21, 95 

in  Europe 56 

the  United  States 63 

gape  disease  of  fo  wis 104 

Hog  cholera.     (See  Swine  |  lague.) 

Hogs,  breeds  and  sanitary  condition  299 

feeding  on  sweet  potatoes 299 

Horses  in  France 181 

at  the  Hamburg  International  Exhibition 186,200 

poisoned  by  vegetation 297 

Hugues'  report  on  education  iu  veterinary  medicine 146 

Huidekoper,  Dr.  R.  S.,  report  on  the  Hamburg  luternatioual  Exhibition 199 

Hunt,  Dr.  E.  M. ,  contagious  animal  diseases 260 

Illinois,  enzootic  of  ergotism,  condition  of  food 35 

symptoms 40 

general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 311 

Impaction  of  the  manifold 295 

Indemnity  for  diseased  cattle 146 

Indiana,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883  313 

Inefficiency  of  State  action  in  regard  to  pleuro-pneumonia 19 

Infection  of  pastures  with  virus  of  Southern  cattle  fever 250 

Inoculation  with  virus  of  foot-and-mouth  disease 265 

against  ijleuro-pneumonia 262 

results  of 18 

with  virus  of  swine  plague 84 

Inspection  of  exported  cattle,  necessity  of 199 

International  Veterinary  Congress  of  1883,  report  by  Dr.  Law 122 

pleuro-pneumonia  of  cattle 134 

tuberculosis 157 

veterinary  service 122 

International  veterinary  service,  principles  of  an 130 

Investigation  of  contagious  d  iseases,  importance  of 20 

Iowa,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1H83 316 

Kansas,  ergotism  among  cattle  in 21,  89 

brief  history  of 25 


36  I  INDEX. 

I'.ige. 

Kansas,  ergotism  among  cattle  in,  condition  of  animals '.iO 

ergot  as  a  cause 3;? 

food,  condition  of :}o 

(See  aho  Ergotism.) 

general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 318 

glanders  in 237 

Southern  cattle  fever  in 207, 239 

swine  plague  in 238 

Kentucky,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 321 

Kirksville,  outbreak  of  disease  in 23,28 

Klein,  Dr.,  investigations  of  swine  plague 79,  80 

Laboratory  for  the  investigation  of  contagious  diseases 21 

Law,  Dr.  J.,  report  ou  the  International  Veterinary  Congress  of  1883 122 

Leblanc's  views  of  pleuro-pneumouia 140 

Letters  from  correspondents  concerning  animal  diseases 291 

Losses  from  pleuro-pueumonia  in  the  United  States  annually 20 

Louisiana,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 323 

Lung  plague.    {See  Pleuro-pneumouia.) 

Lydtiu's  resolutions  concerning  tuberculosis  in  animals 157 

Maine,  genei al  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 324 

Manifold,  impaction  of 295 

Maryland,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 324 

pleuro-pneumonia  in 15 

Massachusetts,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 325 

Meat  of  tuberculous  animals,  laws  against  use  of 168, 172, 174 

Medicinal  eft'ects  of  ergot 50 

Megnin,  P.,  gape  disease  of  fowls 103 

Michigan,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 325 

Microbe  of  swine  plague 79,  85 

Milk  of  tuberculous  animals,  danger  from 171,174 

Minnesota,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 327 

Mississippi,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 328 

Mi.>-souri,  general  condition  ol  farm  animals,  1883 330 

Montana,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 356 

Mouth  symptoms  in  the  Western  enzootics  of  ergotism 32 

foot-and-mouth  disease 39 

Nebraska,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 332 

Neosha  Falls,  outbreak  of  supposed  foot-and-mouth  disease 21, 25, 37,  89 

Nevada,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 333 

New  Hampshire,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 333 

New  Jersey,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 333 

contagious  pleuro-pneumonia  in 14,293 

glanders  and  farcy  in 267 

New  Mexico,  farm  animals,  general  condition,  1883 356 

New  York,  farm  animals,  general  condition,  1883 334 

ergotism  in 60, 66 

North  Carolina,  districts  infected  with  Southern  cattle  fever 75 

farm  animals,  general  condition,  1883 336 

Objections  to  the  theory  of  ergotism  in  Kansas  answered 42 

Ohio,  farm  animals,  general  condition,  1883   338 

history  of  ergotism  in 67 

Oregon,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 340 


INDEX. 


3fi5 


Page. 

Packing,  stilt  used  in 288 

Parasitic  disease  of  fowls 103 

Pasteur's  investigations  of  swine plagne 79 

Pastures,  theories  as  to  the  infection  of,  with  Sontheru  cattle  fever 2r)0 

Pathological  anatomy  of  tuberculosis 160 

Pennsylvania,  cases  of  pleuro-pueuraouia  in 12 

ergotism  in 68 

farm  animals,  general  condition,  1863 341 

Perriot,  E.,  on  breeding  horses i 183 

Physiological  action  of  ergot 55 

Pigs,  eftects  of  ergot  of  rye  on .M 

Pleuro-pneunionia  (contagious),  annual  losses  in  the  United  States  from 20 

in  the  Atlantic  States,  reasons  for  believing  in  the  existence 

of 17 

Couuecticutr 10 

contagiousness  of 14 1 

danger  from,  greater  than  the  extent  of  infected  territory 

would  indicate 18 

differential  diagnosis  of 134, 141, 176 

discussed  by  the  International  Veterinary  Congress 134, 176 

in  the  District  of  Columbia 6,7 

extermination  by  the  Government  of  the   United  States, 

advantages  of 20 

indemnity  for  diseased  cattle 146 

inoculation  against 135, 141, 143,  262 

advantages  and  disadvantages 137 

in  New  Jersey 14 

insidious  nature  of 128 

investigation  of 6 

losses  from 128 

in  Maryland 15 

NewJ.rsey   14,293 

pathology  of,  acording  to  Degive 136 

in  Pennsylvania,  uumberofcattleexposedaudslaughtered.l2, 13, 14 

prevention  of,  rules  for  the 135, 143 

preventive  inoculation  to  be  absolutely  rejected 144 

stamping  out,  means  of 143 

statement  prepared  for  the  House  Committee  on  Agricult- 
ure conceiinng 16 

Poisonous  vegetation   296,  297 

Pork,  examination  of,  for  trichina'  : 270 

froiu  the  Unite. I  Stat^ss  in  Germany 18 

Prevention  and  treatment  of  ergotism 69 

of  trichiniasis  in  swine 286 

Preventive  measures  in   the  consumption  of  milk  and  meat  of  tuberculous 

animals 168, 172 

Prophylaxis  of  pleuro-i)neumonia 135,  143, 177 

Proust's  statement  concerning  American  pork 276 

Piitz's  views  of  jjleuro-jmeuinonia 141 

liandall.  Dr.,  report  on  ergotism  in  New  York 60 

lied  top,  ergot  in ;i5 

Ked  worm.     (.LSee  Gape-worm.) 
Remedies.     {iSee  Treatment.) 


366  '  INDEX. 

Page 

Remedies  for  buffalo  gnats 299 

Resolutions  proposed  and  adopted  at  the  International  Veterinary  Congress.   124,  176 

Rhode  Island,  general  condition  of  farm  aiiimals,  1883 342 

Knminants,  effect  of  ergot  of  rye  on .  51 

Salmon,  Dr.  D.  E.,  investigation  of  swine  plague 78 

report  on  enzootics  of  ergotism 21 

pleuro-pneumonia 

Southern  cattle  fever 70 

trichiniasis 269 

Saliva  as  the  infective  agent  in  Southern  cattle  fever 252 

Salt  used  in  packing 288 

Salts,  ai^alyses  of 289 

Sanders,  J.  H.,  report  on  the  Hamburg  International  Exhibition 181 

Sheep  at  the  Hamburg  International  Exhibition 188 

a  new  disease  among 300 

Solipeds,  effect  of  ergot  on 50, 54 

South  Carolina,  districts  infected  with  Southern  cattle  fever .   75 

farm  animals,  general  condition  of,  1883  342 

Southern  cattle  fever,  report  of  Dr.  H.  J.  Detmers 247 

bacilli  as  the  cause  of 253 

infection  of  pastures 2.50 

infectious  principle,  relation  to  food 247 

saliva  the  infective  agent  of 252 

report  of  Dr.  D.  E.  Salmon 70 

its  advance ...  I 21 

in  Georgia,  line  of  infected  district   75 

North  Carolina,  line  of  infected  district 75 

South  Carolina,  line  of  infected  district 75 

Tennessee,  line  of  infected  district 76 

Virginia,  line  of  infected  district 71 

Kansas 207, 239 

susiiected  herds 235 

table  of  cattle  exposed 236,  244 

State  action,  inefficiency  in  controlling  pleuro-pneumonia 19 

Statement  concerning  pleiiro-pneiiinouia  prepared  for  the  House  Committee 

on  Agriculture 16 

Steel  on  foul-in-the-foot -. 42 

Stickler,  Dr.  J.  W.,  experiments  with  virus  of  foot-and-mouth  disease 265 

Stud-book  of  Percheron  breeders 184 

Swine  at  the  Hamburg  International  Exhibition 188 

percentage  of  American  and  European  trichinosed 269,  272 

prevention  of  trichinia-sis  in  286 

(See  also  Hogs  ;  Pork. ) 

Swine  plague,  investigations  of,  by  Dr.  Salmon 78 

experiments  with  virus  of 84 

Klein's  investigations  of 78 

microbe  of 78 

Pasteur's  investigations  of 78 

pure  cultures  of  virus  of 86 

in  Arkansas 300 

Kansas 238 

Symptoms  of  the  diseased  animals  in  the  Kansas  enzootic 25 

Illinois  enzootic 31 


INDEX.  367 

Page. 

Symptom^  of  ergotism 52 

auioug  cattle  in  Kansas 90 

foot-and-uiouth  disease  and  of  Western  enzootics  compared 39 

foul-in-the-foot 41 

Syngamus  traclieaVis.     (See  Gape- worm.) 

Table  of  the  number  of  cattle  exposed  to  pleuro-pneumonia  and  slaughtered  in 

Pfunsylvania 13,14 

Southern  cattle  fever  in  Kansas 236,244 

stables  exposed  to  ]»leuro-pneumonia  in  Maryland 15 

Tabourin  on  the  action  of  ergot 50 

Tennessee,  district  infected  with  Southern  cattle  fever 76 

farm  animals,  general  condition,  1883 343 

Tessier's  experiments  with  ergot 49 

Texas  cattle  fever.     {See  Southern  cattle  fever.) 

farm  animals,  general  condition  of,  1883 346 

Toxic  eftects  of  ergot .50,  51 

Treatment  of  ergotism 69 

gape  disease  in  fowls 117 

Trichiu*,  cooking,  etfect  of 277 

curing,  effect  of 273 

in  American  and  European  hogs 270,  272 

life  history  of 286 

Trichiniasis,  report  by  Dr.  Salmon 269 

in  man,  reports  of  boards  of  health  on 283 

cases  of,  in  foreign  countries 280 

the  United  States 283 

epidemics  of,  in  Europe 282 

swine,  cause  arid  prevention  of 286 

Trumbower,  Dr.  M.  R.,  report  on  ergotism  among  cattle  in  Kansas 89 

Southern  cattle  fever  in  Kansas 207 

Tuberculosis  in  animals,  bacillus  of 166 

contagion  as  a  cause  of 163 

feeding  experiments 165 

forms  of 159 

heredity  as  a  cause  of 162 

identical  with  tuberculosis  in  man 167 

laws  against  the  use  of  meat 169, 174 

lesions  of 160 

letters  concerning 294 

milk,  danger  from 171, 174 

in  New  York  City 168 

resolutions  proposed  and  adopted  at  the  Interna- 
tional Veterinary  Congress 157, 180 

Udder,  eruption  on,  in  the  enzootics  of  ergotism 41 

United  States,  ergotism  in  the  history  of (53 

Government  veterinary  schools,  necessity  of,  in  the 154 

trichiniasis  in  the 283 

veterinary  service  in  the,  necessity  of  a 1.32 

Utah,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 356 

Veget ation  poisonous  to  catt le 296 

horses 297 

Yerheyen  on  ergotism 52,  56 


368  INDEX. 

t'apfc. 

Vermont,  general  coiulitiou  of  farm  animals,  1883 349 

Veterinary  experiment  station 5 

medicine,  reports  at    the  International  Veterinary  Congress   on 

education  in 146, 150 

school  at  Brussels,  cnrriculum  of 147 

service,  necessity  in  the  United  States  of  a 132 

organization  of  a 122 

liriuciples  of  a 130, 176 

Virginia,  district  infected  with  Soutlieru  cattle  fever 71 

general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 349 

Washington  Territory,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 356 

West  Virginia,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 351 

Wild  rye,  ergot  in 34 

Wisconsin,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 353 

Wyoming  Territory,  general  condition  of  farm  animals,  1883 358 

Ziemssen  on  ergotism 99 

Zoological  description  of  Sy7igamus  tracheaUs 107 

Znndel  on  the  organization  of  a  veterinarv  service 122 


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